NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES
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Historic Families of Kentucky.
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO STOCKS IMMEDIATELY
DERIVED FROM THE VALLEY OF VIRGINIA; TRACING
IN DETAIL THEIR VARIOUS GENEALOGICAL CONNEX-
IONS AND ILLUSTRATING FROM HISTORIC SOURCES
THEIR INFLUENCE UPON THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT OF KENTUCKY AND THE STATES OF
THE SOUTH AND WEST.
BY
THOMAS MARSHALL GREEN.
No greater calamity can happen to a people than to break
utterly with its past. — Gladstone.
FIRST SERIES.
> , ' , j ,
CINCINNATI:
ROBERT CLARKE & CO
1889.
May 1913
G. brown-coue collection.
Copyright, 1889,
Bv Thomas Marshall Green.
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PREFATORY.
In his interesting "Sketches of North Cai-olina," it is stated
by Rev. W. H. Foote, that the political principle asserted by
the Scotch-Irish settlers in that State, in what is known as the
"Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence," of the right to
choose their own civil rulers, was the legitimate outgrowth of the
religious principle for which their ancestors had fought in both
Ireland and Scotland — that of their right to choose their own re-
ligious teachers. After affirming that "The famous book, Lex
Rex, by Rev. Samuel Rutherford, was full of principles that lead
to Republican action," and that the Protestant emigrants to
America from the North of Ireland had learned the rudiments
of republicanism in the latter country, the same author empha-
sizes the assertion that "these great principles they brought with
them to America."
In writing these pages the object has been, not to tickle
vanity by reviving recollections of empty titles, or imaginary dig-
nities, or of dissipated wealth ; but, in a plain and simple manner,
to trace from their origin in this country a number of Kentucky
families of Scottish extraction, whose ancestors, after having been
seated in Ireland for several generations, emigrated to America
early in the eighteenth century and became the pioneers of the
Valley of Virginia, to the communities settled in which they gave
their own distinguishing characteristics. A later generation of
these same families of the Valley were also among the early
pioneers of Kentucky, and here, too, impressed the qualities trans-
mitted to them upon the people of the Commonwealth they helped
i v Prefatory.
to found. Connected with them in the process of intermarriage
are many families of a different origin and from other parts of
Virginia. Apart from the bare genealogical details of dates and
intermarriages, the writer has derived a personal gratification in
relating the public services of many of the persons mentioned in
all the struggles of the country for independence and existence;
and in dwelling upon the marked and heneficent influence they
have exerted, individually and as families, .upon the material
progress, the educational and religious advancement, and the
political action of the Commonwealth, as well as upon the martial
spirit exhibited by them and their descendants upon the battle-
fields of the country.
Among the families, some account of whom is attempted
briefly to be given, are those of: Alexander, Allen, Anderson,
Andrews, Ball, Barbour, Bell, Benton, Birney, Blair, Bowman,
Brashear, Breckinridge, Brown, Buford, Bullitt, Burden, Butler,
Campbell, Carlisle, Carrington, Carson, Caruthers, Carthrae,
Chrisman, Christian, Clarke, Clay, Crittenden, Cummings, Dick-
sou, Drake, Duke, Fontaine, Frogg, Hall, Harbeson, Hardin,
Harvey, Harvie, Hawkins, Helm, Innes, Irvine, Gordon, Jones,
Keith, Kirk, Le Grand, Lewis, Logan, Luke, Lyle, Madison,
Marshall, McAlpine, McClure, McClarty, McClung, McDowell,
McKnight, McPheeters, Metcalfe, Miller, Moffett, Monroe, Mont-
gomery, Moore, Murray, Neil, Newton, Patton, Parker, Paxton,
Pepper, Pickett, Preston, Price, Randolph, Reade, Reed, Reid,
Smith, Starling, Stuart, Strother, Taylor, Thornton, Todd, Venable,
Warner, Washington, Woodson, Wallace. Besides these the
names of many other families omitted in this list occur in the
narrative.
Maysville, Ky., December, 1888.
HISTORIC FAMILIES OF KENTUCKY.
the McDowells.
Of all the fierce and warlike septs that ranged them-
selves beside the Campbells, under the leadership of the
chiefs of that name, in the struggles so replete with deeds
of crime and heroism, of oppression and stubborn resist-
ance, which had their fruit in the overthrow of the right
line of the Stuarts, there was none more respectable, nor
one which more perfectly illustrated the best qualities of
their race than the sons of Dowall. Sprung from Dougall,
the son of Ronald, the son of the great and famous Som-
erled, they had, from the misty ages, marched and fought
under the cloudberry bush, as the badge of their clan, and
had marshaled under the banner of the ancient Lords of
Lorn, the chiefs of their race. The form of McDowell
was adopted by those of the McDougal clan who held lands
in Galloway, to which they, the Black Gaels, had given its
name. The latter branch became allied by blood and inter-
marriages with the Campbells. Presbyterians of the strict-
est sect, and deeply imbued with that love of civil and re-
ligious freedom which has ever characterized the followers
of John Ivnox, they found their natural leaders in the
house of Argyle. In what degree related to the chiefs of
the name was the McDowell who left behind him the hills
of his native Argyleshire, to settle with others of his name
and kindred and religion in the North of Ireland, during
the Protectorate of Cromwell, can not be accurately stated ;
he was, so far as can be gleaned from vague traditions,
one of the most reputable of the colonists who there
founded the race known as the " Scotch-Irish," the char-
acteristics of which have since been so splendidly attested
1 (1)
2 Historic Families of Kentucky.
by its heroes, scholars, orators, theologians and statesmen
all over the world. This Scotch colonist, McDowell, had,
among other children, a son named Ephraim, which, of
itself, indicates that he was a child of the Covenant. It
was fitting that Ephraim McDowell should become, at the
early age of sixteen years, one of the Scotch-Irish Presby-
terians who flew to the defense of heroic Londonderry, on
the approach of McDonnell of Antrim, on the 9th of De-
cember, 1688, and that he should be one of the band who
closed the gates against the native Irishry, intent on blood
and rapine. During the long siege that followed, the
memory of which will ever bid defiance to the effacing
hand of- time, and in which the devoted preacher, George
Walker, and the brave Murray, at the head of their undis-
ciplined fellow-citizens — farmers, shopkeepers, mechanics
and apprentices — but Protestants, Presbyterians — success-
fully repelled the assaults of Rosen, Marmont, Persignan
and Hamilton — the McDowell was conspicuous for endur-
ance and bravery in a band where all were brave as the
most heroic Greek who fell at Thermopylae. The maiden
name of the woman who became the worthy helpmeet of
the Londonderry soldier boy was Margaret Irvine, his own
full first cousin. She was a member of an honorable Scotch
family who settled in Ireland at the same time as their
kinspeoplc, the McDowells. The names of Irvin, Irvine,
Irving, Irwin and Erwin are identical — those bearing
the name thus variously spelled being branches from
the same tree. The name was and is one of note in Scot-
land, where (hose who bore it had intermarried with the
most prominent families of the kingdom, breeding races
of soldiers, statesmen, orators and divines.
Ephraim McDowell,
who fought at Boyne river, as well as at Londonderry,
was already an elderly man, when, with his two sons,
John and dames, his daughters, Mary and Margaret, and
numerous kinsmen and co-religionists, he emigrated to
America to build for himself and his a new home. In his
interesting "Sketches of Virginia," Foote states that he
The McDowells. 3
was accompanied to Virginia by his wife, and that his son
John was a widower when he left Ireland; but, as in the
deposition of Mrs. Mary E. Greenlee, the daughter of
Ephraim, her father, her brother John, her husband, and
herself, are designated as composing the party emigrating
to Virginia from Pennsylvania, and no mention is any-
where made of her mother, Mr. Foote is probably in error ;
and the uniform tradition of the family is more likely to
be correct — that the wife of Ephraim McDowell died in
Ireland, and that John McDowell had never been married
until he came to America. The exact date of his arrival
in Pennsylvania is not known. The journal of Charles
Clinton — the founder of the historic family of that name
in New York — gives an account of his voyage from the
county of Longford, in the good ship " George and Ann,"
in company with the "John of Dublin," having many Mc-
Dowells aboard as his fellow passengers. The " George
and Ann" set sail on the 9th of May, 1729. On the 8th
of June, a child of James McDowell died, and was thrown
overboard ; several other children of the same afterward
died ; also a John McDowell, and the sister, brother and wife
of Andrew McDowell. The ship reached land, on the coast
of Pennsylvania, on the 4th day of September, 1729.
Whether or not the conjecture that Ephraim McDowell
was a passenger with his kindred on board this ship at
that time is correct, it is certain that about the same time
he and his family, and numerous other Mel )owells, Irvines,
Campbells, McElroys, and Mitchells, came over together,
and settled in the same Pennsylvania county.
In Pennsylvania, Ephraim McDowell remained several
years. There his son, John, was married to Magdalena
Wood, whose mother was a Campbell, and, as tradition
has it, of the noble family of Argyle. There Samuel, the
eldest son of John and Magdalena McDowell, was born,
in 1735. There, too, probably, Mary, the daughter of
Ephraim, met, was beloved by, and married James Green-
lee, a Presbyterian Irishman, of English descent, and said
to have been remotely descended from the Argyle Camp-
4 Historic Families of Kentucky.
bells. Some years before, a near relative of Ephraim Mc-
Dowell, by name
John Lewis,
had left Ireland, a fugitive; Sir Mungo Campbell, an op-
pressive landlord, bad attempted in a lawless and brutal
manner to evict him from premises of which lie held a
freehold lease, had slain before bis eves an invalid brother,
and, with one of bis cruel henchmen, bad died the death
of the unrighteous beneath the strong hand of Lewis.
First seeking refuge in Portugal, where lived a brother of
his wife, be was by him advised to find a safer asylum in
the great central valley of Pennsylvania, whither Avere
then flocking many of the Protestants of Lister. His first
resting place was at Lancaster, where be was in time
joined by his sons, Samuel, Thomas, and Andrew, and by
his noble -wife, Margaret Lynn. The latter was a native
of Ireland. Her ancestors, the chiefs of their clan, de-
rived their patronymic from the beautiful Loch, on whose
banks in Scotland nestled their homes, and in the moun-
tains, reflected by the translucent waters of which, they
bunted. He landed in Pennsylvania the same year that
brought the McDowells to America — 1729. Leaving his
family among their kindred and countrymen in Pennsyl-
vania, and thence turning bis footsteps southward, in
Williamsburg, then the seat of government and learning
in Virginia, he listened with wondering admiration to the
description of the fertility and picturesque beauty of the
country lying west of the great mountains, as given by
Sailing. This adventurer had been captured by the In-
dians of the Upper Tennessee; had hunted with them
around the salt and sulphur springs of Kentucky ; and,
captured again from the Cherokees by the Illinois Indians,
had with the latter penetrated the prairies of Kaskaskias,
and thence roved to the Gulf of Mexico. His poetic fancy
set aglow by the account of the clear streams, fertile soil,
luxuriant herbage, and wood-crowned bills of the valley
immediately beyond the Blue Mountains, Lewis deter-
mined there to seek a home lor himself and a fortune for
his posterity; and John Lewis, John Sailing, and John
The McDowells. 5
Mackey set out together on a voyage of discovery in this
new land of Canaan. His expectations more than real-
ized, in the summer of 1782, Lewis removed his family
from Lancaster to a body of land he had selected a few
miles from the present city of Staunton, in the midst of
the large tract afterward patented by Governor Gooch to
¥m. Beverly, two of the Randolphs, and John Robinson,
and called "The Beverly Manor." vile named his place
Bellefont, from an immense spring whose crystal waters
gushed from the side of the eminence on which he built
the stone fort so long and grimly held by the stout Irish-
man and his warrior sons. Shortly afterward, he obtained
the grant of 100,000 acres, which he located principally on
the waters of the Greenbrier river. That John Lewis and
Ephraim McDowell were related, and had been friends in
Ireland, appears from the deposition of Mrs. Mary Green-
lee, the daughter of the latter, in 1806, in the suit of Jo-
seph Burden v. Alex. Cueton and others. The degree of
the kinship is not stated ; but, from the similarity of Chris-
tian names in the two families, and other circumstances, it
is believed their mothers were sisters. The mother of John
Lewis was a Miss Calhoun. In most of the references to
him it has been said that his father was the son of a French
Huguenot, who fled to Ireland after the revocation of the
Edict of Xantes ; an error that is none the less singular
from the fact that John Lewis himself, the grandson of the
alleged refugee, was born in Ireland, of an Irish mother,
in 1678, fully eight years before the revocation. Lewis is
not a French name, but is as distinctively Welsh as Llew-
ellyn — from whom their descent is more likely than from
any Frenchman — or Howell, or Griffith. Of those bearing
the name now in Ireland, there is not a family that does not
directly trace itself to a Welsh origin. In Cromwell's time,
Welshmen of the name were among the Protestant settlers
in Ulster, and from these the soldier race of the valley un-
questionably came. More certainly than their name itself,
their immense size, herculean strength, martial bearing,
dauntless courage, thin, fair skins, and every physical, men-
tal and moral characteristic, attest their mingled Pictish
6 Historic Families of Kentucky.
and Celtic origin. In the " Chronicles of Border War-
fare," by Alexander S. Withers, published in 1831, and
now out of print, it is stated that Jane Lynn, the sister
of Margaret, the heroic wife of John Lewis, married in
Ireland John Paul, son of Hugh Paul, the Bishop of Not-
tingham; by whom she had three children: John, who
became a Roman Catholic priest, and died on the eastern
shore of Maryland; Audley, who was for ten years an of-
ficer in the British army, in the colonial service ; and
Polly, who married the brave George Matthews, distin-
guished as a soldier in all the Indian wars and in the Rev-
olution, and afterward governor of Georgia. John Paul,
the husband of Jane Lynn, was a partizan of the Stuarts,
and fell in the siege of Dalrymple castle, in 1745. Jane,
his widow, married John Stuart. The latter was an inti-
mate friend of Robert Dinwiddle, and, with many other
adventurers, accompanied Dinwiddie to America, where he
was made governor of Virginia, bringing with him the
three step-children above named. By John Stuart, Jane
Lynn had issue, the celebrated Colonel John Stuart, of
Greenbrier, and Betsy, who became the wife of Colonel
Richard Woods of Albemarle, whose daughter is also said
to have been the wife of George Matthews. Colonel John
Stuart, of Greenbrier, distinguished himself at Point Pleas-
ant, as a captain under his cousin, General Andrew Lewis.
Burden's Grant.
James McDowell, the second son of the Londonderry
soldier, had planted corn and made a settlement on the
South river, in the Beverly manor, in the spring of 1737,
and thither the remaining members of the family deter-
mined to proceed and pitch their tents. Accordingly, in
the fall of that year, Ephraim and John McDowell and
James and Mary Greenlee left Pennsylvania, traversed the
lower valley of the Shenandoah, intending to locate not
far from John Lewis, and had reached Sewcll's creek,
where they went into camp. The fires had been lighted,
and arrangements made for the evening meal, when a.^
weary stranger, coming up, solicited their hospitality. It
The McDowells. 7
was Benjamin Burden (or Borden, as the name is spelt by
those of the family who clung to New Jersey, and gave its
designation to Bordentown), an Englishman, who had re-
cently come over as the agent of Lord Fairfax, the propri-
etor of the Northern Neck. Meeting, at Williamstown,
with John Lewis, in 1736, he had accepted the cordial in-
vitation of the latter to visit him at Bellefont, had chased
the roaming buffalo with the hospitable Irishman and his
stalwart sons, and, with their assistance, had taken a buf-
falo calf, which, carrying as a trophy to Williamsburg, he
presented to Governor Gooch. Pleased with what was
then a curiosity in tide-water Virginia, and anxious, be-
sides, to promote the extension of the frontier, and the set-
tlement of hardy pioneers, as a means of protection and
defense to the more populous lower country, Sir William
issued to Burden a patent for 500,000 acres of land, or any
less quantity, situated on the Shenandoah or James rivers,
not interfering with previous grants, on condition that,
within ten years, he should settle, on the lands so located,
not less than 100 families ; 1,000 acres for every family set-
tled or cabin built, with the privilege of purchasing an
additional adjacent 1,000 acres at one shilling per acre.
Making himself known to the McDowells, and producing
the patents as proof of his rights, he informed them that
he had located 10,000 acres in the forks of the James river,
to which he could not find his way, and stated he would
give 1,000 acres to any one who would pilot him to his
possessions. John McDowell was a man of education, a
practical and skillful surveyor. He accepted Burden's
proposition; writings were entered into to complete the
agreement ; and finally the whole party agreed to settle in
" Burden's Grant," and to assist him in conforming to its
conditions. The next day proceeding to John Lewis', and
remaining there a few days until all the stipulations of the
contract could be reduced to writing, they then went on
until they came to the lands upon which Burden had the
privilege to enter, building their cabins in what is now
Rockbridge county, not far from the present town of Lex-
ington — Ephraim and John McDowell and James Green-
8 Historic Families of Kentucky.
lee, 'the first three settlers in all that region. Complying
with their agreement with Burden, they immediately en-
tered into communication and opened negotiations with
their kindred, friends and co-religionists in Pennsylvania,
Ireland and Scotland, soon drawing around them other
Scotch and Scotch-Irish families — McClungs, McCues, Mc-
Cowns, McElroys, McKees, McCampbells, McPheeters,
Campbells, Stuarts, Paxtons, Lyles, Irvines, Caldwells,
Calhouns, Alexanders, Cloyds, — names which have since
gloriously illustrated every page of Western and Southern
history. In the field, at the bar, in the pulpit, in the sen-
ate, on the bench, on the hustings, every-where, by their
courage, eloquence, learning and patriotism they have made
themselves conspicuous, making famous their own names
and building up the country with whose history and
growth they are inseparably identified. Burden lived in
the Grant until near the time of his death, in 1742. His
daughter had married in Ireland, James Patton, a ship
owner and master, a man of some property, accpiired by
"privateering" on the Spanish main, and of great energy
and force of character; and Elizabeth, a sister of James
Patton, had married John Preston, a Protestant Irishman
of English descent , of large and handsome person and of
good character. Having, through the McDowells, ful-
filled -the conditions of his " Grant," Burden induced his
son-in-law, James Patton, to seek an increase of fortune
in the New World; and with Patton, or shortly after him,
came his brother-in-law, John Preston, with his family —
his son William, and his daughters Lettice and Margaret
having been born in Ireland. The emigration of the Pat-
tons and Prestons took place April, 1740. They settled
near Staunton, where Preston continued to live, and died.
Remarkable in many ways, other than the great age of
more than a century to which he lived, the span of Eph-
raim McDowell's life covered the overthrow of the Stuarts,
the rise of the House of Hanover, the establishment of the
empire of Britain in India and over the seas, the wresting
of New York from the Dutch, and the expulsion of the
French from North America ; the erection of the elector-
The McDowells. 9
ate of Brandenburg into the kingdom of Prussia ; the vic-
tories of Marlborough and Eugene and of the great Fred-
erick ; the consolidation of the Russian empire under Peter
and his successors ; the opening of the great West by the
daring pioneers, and the growth of liberalism in Great
Britain, France and America. Foremost of the virtuous
and hardy community, planted chiefly by his influence and
exertions, he and his associates erected school-houses and
churches in the Valley, even before they constructed forts.
Eminently useful and practical in the character of his
mind and the manner of his life, Howe records the fact
that he built the first road across the Blue Ridge, to con-
nect the Valley with the tide-water country, at once afford-
ing a mode of egress for the productions of the former, and
facilities for receiving from the merchants of the latter the
manufactures of the Old World. Religious, moral, intel-
ligent and shrewd, the singular and beneficent influence
reacquired among the independent and intrepid spirits by
whom he was surrounded, was a natural tribute to his vir-
tue, sagacity and unflinching devotion to the cause of civil
and religious liberty he had all his life upheld. It is
scarcely necessary to state of such a man, at once hospit-
able and provident, that he failed not to use the opportu-
nities with which fail' and generous nature had surrounded
him to reap and store a fortune considered very large in
those days. Retaining full possession of all his faculties
to the very last, he died not until the outbreak pf the
Revolutionary war, and not until he had heard the praises
bestowed on his grandchildren for good conduct shown at
the battle of Point Pleasant.
Mary E. Greenlee.
The oldest daughter of Ephraim McDowell was Mary
E. Greenlee, a woman so remarkable for her intelligence,
uncommon sense, unusual strength of character, and great
physical endurance, that, as tradition reports, the super-
stitious of her Scotch-Irish neighbors were not without
misgivings that her life was lengthened to the 104 years al-
lotted to her, by the powers of witchcraft. Born in 1711,
10 Historic Families of Kentucky.
she was in the camp, enduring all the trials incident to the
toilsome journey through the roadless wilderness into a
region then unpeopled and almost unknown, when Burden
approached the party; and was the first white woman ever
within the Grant. From her deposition, taken in 1806,
when she was ninety-five years old, is gleaned all that is
known concerning that early settlement. To the end of
her long life she rode, erect, on horseback over all the
country-side, giving an active personal supervision to her
business affairs, in which she was at once thrifty and pros-
perous. In his history of Augusta county, Mr. Peyton
dwells at undue length upon the alleged suspicions of the
ignorant that this remarkable woman was possessed, of mi-
raculous powers — suspicions to which a voice was scarcely
given, and which were tributes to the brightness and vigor
of her mental faculties and the robustness of a constitu-
tion that had been strengthened by a pure and simple life,
and'not arising from any apprehensions they entertained
of experiencing injury at her hands. She aided in re-
deeming the valley from the Indians; helped to fit out the
soldiers who fought in the French and Indian war; saw
the men march who conquered, and mourned over her kin-
dred who fell, at Point Pleasant; watched the pioneers as
they started on their exploring and hunting expeditions
into Kentucky and the North-western Territory; made
clothing for the heroes of the Revolution ; and rejoiced at
the news of the defeat of the British at New Orleans.
Before the death of her husband, she had borne him eight
children, whose descendants number hundreds, and are
among the most prominent and reputable citizens of Y\r-
ginia and of the Carolinas. John Greenlee, her oldest
son, was the first white child born in the grant — in 1738;
he married Hannah, daughter of Elijah McClanahan, a
name famous in all the forays of the border land and
on many a hard-fought held in the Revolution. Elijah
Greenlee, one of the three sons of John and Hannah
Greenlee, horn in 177:2, was an eminent surgeon of the
United States army, and died in Milledgeville, Georgia.
Another son, .John, removed to Kentucky, and died in this
The McDowells. 11
state. The eldest son, James, born in 1769, married Mary,
daughter of William Paxton and Jane Griggsby, both be-
longing to families which have become distinguished in Vir-
ginia and in Kentucky; the mother of Sam. Houston, the
President of Texas, was a Paxton, while the Griggsbys
gave to literature a brilliant light in the person of the his-
torian, Hugh Blair Griggsby. James Greenlee and Mary
Paxton had, among other children, a daughter, Hannah,
who married James D. Davidson, a distinguished lawyer
of Lexington, Virginia; their son, James Greenlee David-
son, died the death of a hero at Chancellorsville ; their son
Frederick fell gloriously at the first battle of Manassas ;
and Albert was killed in battle in South-western Virginia
the day before the Southern cause went down at Appo-
mattox. James Greenlee and Mary E. McDowell had a
second son, also named James, born in 1740. He went
first to North Carolina, but settled finally in South Caro-
lina, where he married his first cousin, Mary Mitchell,
daughter of his mother's youngest sister. This James
Greenlee and Mary Mitchell had a son named John Mitch-
ell Greenlee, who also married his full cousin, Mary Green-
lee, the only daughter of John Greenlee and Hannah Mc-
Clanahan, already mentioned; and this John Mitchell
Greenlee and Mary Greenlee had an only son, Colonel
James Harvey Greenlee, who completed this singular inter-
weaving of close kindred by also marrying his full first
cousin, Hannah Ann Eliza Greenlee, the daughter of his
father's brother. Colonel James Harvey Greenlee, a double
great-grandson of Mrs. Mary E. (McDowell) Greenlee, is still
living in his ancestral home at Turkey Cove, North Caro-
lina, at the age of seventy-five years, a man of handsome
fortune, and a splendid type of the intermingling of the
races of the McDowells, Greenlees, McClanahans, Paxtons,
and Griggsbys. Grizel Greenlee, one of the daughters of
James and Mary E. (McDowell) Greenlee, first married
Captain John Bowman; afterward, General Charles Mc-
Dowell, a distinguished kinsman of a branch of the family
which, coming to America some years after old Ephraim,
followed him to Virginia, at first locating in the lower part
12 Historic Families of Kentucky.
of the valley, near Winchester, and then struck out for
themselves into North Carolina, where they won and wore
reputations as the grimmest of rough and ready fighters.
It would be interesting to follow these Greenlees through
all their branches and generations; but this is intended
more as a sketch than as a genealogical table.
The Mitchells.
Margaretta, the second daughter of Ephraim McDowell,
married James Mitchell, also born in Ireland, and, from
his name, probably one of those who came over in the
" George and Ann." Removing to North, and then to South
Carolina, in the latter state they prospered and accumulated
large wealth. Many children were born to them, of whom
one, Mary, married, as stated above, James Greenlee. In-
heriting the fighting qualities of their rugged progenitor, the
old Presbyterian Ephraim, they were all the staunchest of
Whigs in the Re volution. Four of Margaretta's sons
were officers of the line in that struggle. Two laid down
their lives at Camden. A third there received the ghastly
wound from which he died after agonized lingering. A
fourth, Major Mitchell, was captured at Charleston.
Among the respectable and reputable families of South
Carolina, none are more so than the Mitchells and the de-
scendants of Margaretta McDowell bearing other names.
In Kentucky, there is but one branch of her descendants
known to the writer — that of Mr. Thomas Mitchell, the
former venerable cashier of the Bank of Kentucky, at Dan-
ville. One of his sons, in wedding the beautiful Mary Mar-
shall, married back among his McDowell kindred. His
only daughter, Louisa Mitchell, is the wife of Rev. Thomas
Clelland, the Presbyterian minister at Springfield, Missouri
— from a family which has given many ministers to the
church.
James McDowell,
the second son of Ephraim, the first of the family who
went to Virginia, and raised corn in the Beverly manor,
in the spring of 1737, had an active part in the defense of
the valley from Indian raids. A gallant soldier in the
The McDowells. 13
Frencli and Indian wars, the official records of those cam-
paigns show that he had won and held the rank of lieu-
tenant in an Augusta company. He married near Will-
iamsburg. Leaving no male issue, very little is known of
the descendants of his daughters.
Captain John McDowell,
the oldest son of Ephraim, was born in Ireland, where he
was educated and grew to manhood. In Pennsylvania,
probably in 1734, he married Magdalena Wood. When
he located in Burden's Grant, in 1737, he was in the prime
of a vigorous manhood. Most active in colonizing the beau-
tiful valley with his co-religionists and clansmen and kins-
men of Scotch-Irish blood, he was a man of mark, and na-
tural leader of spirits as self-reliant, independent, and bold
as any the world ever saw. Well instructed in the branches
of a practical English education, he was a skillful and ac-
curate surveyor, a branch of knowledge perhaps more
useful and certainly more remunerative in the then situa-
tion of the frontier than almost any other. It was he
who, assisted by one Wood, made the first survey of the
Grant, and determined its boundaries. Intelligent, ener-
getic, and of proved courage, when concerting measures
for their joint defense, the eyes of the community, at whose
head he stood, instinctively turned to him, as endowed with
the qualities for command. Their petition to Governor
Gooch to commission him as a captain, as the initial step
to organize for the protection of the people " of the back-
woods," is recorded in Palmer's publication of Virginia
state papers, under date of 1742. A marvel of spelling, it
reminds the tardy governor of their previous application
for the legal organization of a military force to provide
against impending peril, and in respectful but forcible lan-
guage, insists upon his immediate action; it enumerates
the names of men whom the petitioners had furnished the
governor, as those for whom appointments as officers were
desired, and whom the " people of the backwoods " —
" thought properist men & men that had Hart and Curidg
to hed us in ye times of & to defend your Countray and
14 Historic Families of Kentucky.
your poor Sobjacks Intrist from ye voilince of ye Ilai-
thcn," — and at the head of these "men of Hart and Cur-
idge," stands the name of John McDowell as that of the
man they had chosen as their chieftain. The petition was
signed, among others, by Andrew and David Moore, George
Moffett, James McDowell and Matthew Lyle ; its prayer
was speedily granted by Governor Gooch, whose confi-
dence and respect had already been won by McDowell's
manly qualities. Fixing his own habitation near where
the far-famed Timber Ridge Church was afterward built,
the brief space of life left to him after his removal
to the Valley was passed in providing for the educa-
tional wants and religious yearnings of those whom
he had induced to settle in the Grant, and in organ-
izing for their mutual defense against the Indians. The
fruits of his labor and daring he did not live to enjoy; on
Christmas day of 1742, with eight of his men, who had
accompanied him in pursuit of savages who had made an
inroad upon the settlement, he fell into an ambuscade and
was killed ; all were buried in one common grave, near
Lexington. His widow afterward married Benjamin Bur-
den, Jr., son of the grantee, who had come into the Grant
before John McDowell's death, and, for a long time, lived
at his house, but had returned to his father's before the
massacre in which McDowell fell. After the death of the
elder Burden, the younger returned into the Grant, fully
empowered, by the will of bis father, to complete titles
and make deeds, and then married the widow, Magdalena
McDowell, continuing to live with her until his death, at
the place near the Timber Ridge, called the Red House,
where John McDowell had settled. The widow, Magda-
lena McDowell, and the junior Benjamin Burden had one
daughter, Martha, who married Benjamin Hawkins — a
name noted in Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and
all the way to Texas, for the oddity of some, and the gal-
lantry of all of its members. The wife of John Todd,
who fell at Blue Licks; the mother of the gallant and hon-
orable Butlers, of Carrolton ;. Colonel Ben. and General
William Hawkins, of North Carolina; Colonel John Haw-
The McDowells. 15
kins, who was adjutant of the Third Virginia Infantry,
during the Revolution, and afterward removed to Scott
county, Kentucky — father of Augustus Hawkins, of Lex-
ington, and the maternal ancestor of the Harvies, of Frank-
fort ; the brave Colonel Thomas T. Hawkins, of Kentucky,
and General Joseph Hawkins, of Texas, were all of the
same game breed. Thomas Mitchell, the old cashier at
Danville, was not only descended on his father's side from
James Mitchell and Margaretta McDowell — daughter of
old Ephraim — but, on his mother's side, was also descended
from Benjamin Hawkins and Martha Burden — the daugh-
ter of Magdalena Wood (John McDowell's widow) by her
second husband. After the death of Ben. Hawkins, his
widow, Martha (Burden), married Robert Harvey. Her
daughter by her first husband, Magdalena Hawkins, mar-
ried Matthew Harvey, a younger brother of Robert ; and
from this latter marriage descended Maria Hawkins Har-
vey, who married her relative, Win. A. McDowell, and was
the mother of Henry C. McDowell, of Lexington, of Mrs.
Bland Ballard, of Louisville, and Miss Margaretta Mc-
Dowell, the accomplished artist and architect. After the
death of her second husband, Magdalena Wood-McDowell-
Burden married a third time, Colonel Bowyer, a gentle-
man twenty years younger than herself. The 104 years to
which she lived, gave ample time lor a full repentance of
this singular matrimonial adventure. Tradition states
that Colonel Bowyer destroyed the marital settlement by
which the wary Magdalena had essayed to secure her
property to herself and children. He outlived her; thou-
sands of acres of the sightly lands which John McDowell
owned thus passed into the hands of Bowyers.
The Moffetts.
Captain John McDowell and Magdalena Wood had three
children — Samuel, James, and Sarah. The latter mar-
ried George Moffett, probably a son of the Captain John
Moffett, whose name appears among the Scotch-Irish em-
igrants who early settled in the "Manor" and in the
" Grant." After the death of the father of George Mof-
16 Historic Families of Kentucky.
fett, the widow married John Trimble, grandfather of the
distinguished Allen Trimble, Governor of Ohio. George
Moffett bore a manly part in the French and Indian war,
and in all the subsequent border warfare with the savage
foe. His step-father, John Trimble, fell a victim in one of
their murderous raids; several members of his family and
many of the neighbors were captured and carried off. The
large band of savage murderers were swiftly pursued by
Captain George Moffett and his hardy company, overtaken
at Kerr's creek, were attacked with vigor, and defeated
with heavy loss; the despairing victims were released and
returned to their friends. Among them was James Trim-
ble, half brother of Captain Moffett, and father of Gov-
ernor Allen Trimble. Their common mother was Mary
Christian, daughter of Robert Christian and Mary Rich-
ardson, of Ireland. Captain Moffett was in turn ambus-
caded and repulsed by the Indians at Falling creek, in
Alleghany county. In the Revolution, from the begin-
ning to the end of which he fought with honorable dis-
tinction, he held the rank of colonel. His services against
the southern Indians and the Tories were valuable. At
King's Mountain, the Cowpens, and Guilford Court-house,
he won fresh laurels. As a friend and promoter of educa-
tion, as one of the founders of the academy at Lexington,
which first grew into a college and then into a university,
he was not less prominent than as a soldier. Colonel
George Moffett and Sarah McDowell had eleven children.
Of these, the oldest. Margaretta, married her relative, Col-
onel Joseph McDowell, of North Carolina — a younger
brother of the General Charles McDowell already men-
tioned as the second husband of Grizel, or Grace, Green-
lee. Besides being of near blood kin to old Ephraim,
these North Carolina McDowells are so interwoven with
his descendants by frequent intermarriages, and are so
like them in appearance and all physical, mental, and
moral traits, that no sketch of the family would be com-
plete that did uot contain some account of them.
The McDowells. 17
The North Carolina Branches.
Joseph McDowell, Sr., the father of General Charles
and Colonel Joe, was born in Ireland in 1715. There his
gallant hearing won the heart of Margaret O'Neil, de-
scended from ancient Irish kings, and a member of one of
the proudest families of the old native Celtic race ; it was
the boast of the O'lSTeils that not one of the name, neither
in battle nor in private quarrel, had ever turned his back
upon a foeman. The fair Margaret's family did not look
witli favor upon the young McDowell. Her reputed an-
cestor, Con O'Neil, for rebellion was laid in the King's
castle, and his broad lands in Down and Antrim confis-
cated. His liberty was secured by surrendering two-thirds
of his estate to Hugh Montgomery and James Hamilton —
both Scots, and founders, respectively, of the houses of
Ards and Claneboy. The two latter colonized their pos-
sessions thus obtained with their kinsmen, clansmen,
and other Scots; and from the foundations thus laid,
and from subsequent migrations to Ulster, sprung the
hardy race of Scotch-Irish, of whom had come the Mc-
Dowell. The O'Neils continued Catholics ; the McDowells
were Presbyterians — Covenanters at that. The O'lSTeils
were of lofty station — wealthy even when stripped of two-
thirds of their ancient patrimony; the sons of Scotch ex-
iles were not apt to have been rich. Love laughs not
only at locksmiths, but as well at the artificial distinctions
of rank and class; yet frowns born of these considera-
tions determined the young McDowell and the brave Mar-
garet to encounter all perils in search of what better for-
tune might await them on this side of the ocean. They
first settled in Pennsylvania. Thence they soon removed
to Winchester, Virginia, where a colony had been already
planted on a patent issued to Joist Hite, a German, "William
Duff, of the Scotch family in Fife, to his nephew, Robert
Green, a Welshman, and to others — the first settlement
west of the Blue Ridge. . There their sons, General Charles
and Colonel Joe McDowell, were born ; the former in
2
18 Historic Families of Kentucky.
1748; the latter in 175(3. The elder Joseph McDowell had all
the fighting qualities of the "breed, and they were not curbed
by the fair O'Neil. He had a part in the early defense of the
border; in the French and Indian war he was a captain
from Frederick; his name and rank are mentioned in
Henning's Statutes; he was one of those who fought when
Braddock fell. His brother, afterward known as "limit-
ing John" McDowell, who had emigrated from Ireland
with him, had early removed from Frederick to the Ca-
tawba country of North Carolina, some time prior to 1758,
settling in that beautiful tract which he well named the
"Pleasant Garden," a designation made historic by his
own deeds of valor, and those of his descendants. Not
long thereafter, "Hunting John" was followed to the ro-
mantic but then wild frontier region by his brother, Jo-
seph McDowell, Sr., who pitched his tent and planted
vines at the " Quaker Meadows." There the sons grew to
manhood. Opportunities were many for vindicating their
right to the honorable name they bore — for proving the
quality of the stuff of which they were made. With the
manner in which they bore any test, and met every de-
mand upon their manhood, the proudest of the O'Neils
would have had satisfaction. The exact degree of rela-
tionship between the elder Joseph McDowell and old
Ephraim is unknown; the former was probably a nephew,
or a cousin's son of the latter. General Charles McDowell
early embarked in the patriotic struggle for independence
in 1 77*J. Discharging his duties well, lie was promoted to
the command of the military district in which the victory
of King's Mountain was won; stoutly he had held the
mountain passes; and the summer before that memorable
tight had commanded the armies of militia assembled in
that quarter against the able British leader, Ferguson.
This fact entitled him to the command of the several regi-
ments led against Ferguson at King's Mountain by Col-
onels Shelby, Sevier, William Campbell, Cleveland, Will-
iams, and himself Why he did not command or partici-
pate in that battle, is thus explained by Shelby, in his let-
ter published in 1823, in reply to an attack made upon
The McDowells. 19
him by Wm. C. Preston, of South Carolina : " Colonel Mc-
Dowell was a brave and patriotic man, but we considered
him too advanced in life and too inactive for the command
of such an enterprise as we were then engaged in. I was
sure he would not serve under a younger officer from his
own state, and hoped that his feelings would in some de-
gree be saved by the appointment of Colonel Camp-
bell. In this way, and upon my suggestion, was Col-
onel Campbell raised to the command, and not upon ac-
count of any superior military talents or experience he was
supposed to possess. He had no previous acquaintance
with any of the colonels, except myself, nor had he, at
that time, acquired any experience or distinction in war,
that we knew of. Colonel McDowell, who had the good of
his country more at heart than any title of command, sub-
mitted to what was done; but observed that, as he could
not be permitted to command, he would be the messenger
to go to head-quarters for the general officer. He accord-
ingly started immediately, leaving his men under his
brother, Major Joseph McDowell, and Colonel Campbell
assumed the chief command. He was, however, to be
regulated and directed by the determinations of the col-
onels, who were to meet in council every day." Captain
John Bowman, the brave and successful Indian tighter,
who married Grizel Greenlee, having been killed in the
battle of Ramsour's Mills, June 20, 1780, General Charles
McDowell afterward married the widow, his relative.
They had several children, among them Captain Charles
McDowell, who, as late as 1851, lived on the fine planta-
tion he had inherited from his father, on the Catawba
river, near Morgantown. General McDowell was a sen-
ator from Burke county in the state legislature in 1778,
and held the same office from 1782 to 1788. He died in
1815. His son, Captain Charles, represented Burke in the
House of Commons in 1800, '10, '11.
The reader who has followed these pages thus far, un-
derstands that Colonel Joseph McDowell, who married
Margaretta Moffett, was a brother of General Charles Mc-
Dowell, who married Grizel Greenlee, and that both were
20 Historic Families of Kentucky.
sons of Joseph McDowell, Si\, of the Quaker Meadows,
and his wife, Margaret O'Xeil. The McDowells, in all
their branches, were among the earliest to fly to anus for
the patriot cause in the Revolution. In February, 1776,
Joseph McDowell, Jr., then only twenty years of age,
marched with his elder brother's regiment, as its major, on
the expedition against the Scotch Tories. In July of that
year, the Cherokees burst upon the Catawba settlements,
killing thirty-seven persons, and beleaguering a fort con-
taining a hundred and twenty women and children, and
defended by Colonel Charles and Major Joe McDowell,
with nine other men : the Indians were forced to retire be-
fore a resistance which was as desperate as it was skillful
and intelligent. In the fall of the same year Major Joe
served in Charles's regiment on Rutherford's campaign
against the Ch<?rokees, winning a high reputation as a
shrewd and energetic commander. In 1779, on the Stono
expedition, lie earned new laurels as a vigilant soldier.
During all the years that passed, from the beginning to the
close of the struggle, lie was constantly in arms, always
on the alert, ever present where hard fighting had to be
done. In 1780, he had a large share in the victory over
the Tories at Ramsour's Mills, where Captain Bowman,
the first husband of Grizel Greenlee, was killed. Earle's
Ford on the Pacolet, Musgrove's Mill and the Cowpens, all
bore witness to his gallantry and heroism. At the last-
named engagement, he led the ]STorth Carolina troops, con-
spicuous even among the heroes whose valor overcame the
discipline of the British veterans. \_Draper.~\ At King's
Mountain, in the absence of his brother, he commanded
the regiment from Burke aud Rutherford counties. Sta-
tioned on the right, with Shelby and Sevier, he served un-
der the immediate observation of those experienced and
stern fighters, with such invincible pluck as to extort from
both the most generous praise. His men. with those of
Shelby, were first engaged hotly, and pressed on by their
commanders to the closest quarters. The bayonet charge
down the mountain-side, by Ferguson's regulars, was driven
back by the well-directed fire from the rifles of Shelby's
The McDowells. 21
and McDowell's men. The victory was complete. The
characteristics of the man are well described by an inci-
dent related by Sharp as occurring while on the march
after the victory. When the half-starved and shivering
men reached his plantation at the Quaker Meadows, be-
side feeding them, he rode along the lines, and telling the
soldiers that the plantation belonged to him, invited them
to take rails from the fences to make fires by which to
warm themselves. A short month before, when the two
McDowells had been forced to retreat before Ferguson,
some of the hitter's officers had visited their home, pre-
sided over by their aged mother, Margaret O'Neil, ran-
sacked the house, appropriating the clothing of the two
brothers, tantalizing Margaret by telling her that when
caught they would kill Charles outright, and after com-
pelling Joe to beg for his life, in order to humiliate him,
they would then kill him, also, while still upon his bended
knees. Fearless as she was energetic, the daughter of the
O'Neils and the mother of the McDowells, so far from be-
ing intimidated or overawed, bade them be careful lest all
the begging should be done by themselves. These same
officers, captured at King's Mountain, were brought as
prisoners to the house they had despoiled, cold, wet and
hungry. The rigid sense of justice of the aged mother at
first revolted at bestowing shelter and food upon those
" thieving Tories," as she called them in plain Irish ; but,
finally, yielding to the solicitations of the brave son, of
whom she was so justly proud, she fed, warmed and clothed
them.- In the spring of 17-81, [Major Joseph McDowell
served in a campaign against Cornwallis. In August of
the same year, and again in March, 1782, he led the expe-
ditions that so severely chastised the Cherokees ; and in the
fall of the latter year he commanded the Burke county regi-
ment, in the expedition against the same troublesome and
warlike tribe which w T as so successfully prosecuted by Gen-
eral Charles McDowell. He was a member of the North
Carolina House of Commons from 1780 to 1788. During the
most of this time, General Charles McDowell was in the sen-
ate from the same county ; and, during a part of it, their
22 Historic Families of Kentucky.
cousin, Joseph McDowell, of the "Pleasant Garden," son
of "Hunting John," was the associate of his namesake
in the house. From 1791 to 1795, Colonel Joseph was in
the state senate; twice he was elected to Congress, serv-
ing two terms in that body, opposing with energy the
alien and sedition laws. In 1788, he was a member of the
state convention which had under consideration the fed-
eral constitution, which he opposed, and which was re-
jected by the convention by a vote of 184 to 84. The
statement that he removed to Woodford county, Ken-
tucky, is erroneous. He died at his home in the Quaker
Meadows in 1801, in the forty-fifth year of his age.
Moore, in his History of JSTorth Carolina, says of him that
"he was the recognized leader of the Republican party in
the western counties, and was as eminent for his sagacious
leadership in civil matters as he had been dauntless and
successful in the late war. He was no inconsiderable an-
tagonist in debate, and throughout his life he was the idol
of the western people of North Carolina." After his
death, his family scattered, some returning to Virginia,
others going west. One of his sons, Hugh Harvey, re-
moved to Missouri, where he became a prominent citizen,
and died there in 1859. Another son, Joseph Jefferson
McDowell, removed to Ohio, and was the distinguished
and able member of Congress from the Hillsboro district
from 1843 to 1847, having previously served with credit in
both branches of the Ohio State Legislature. "While a
member of Congress, he attracted attention by his zealous
advocacy of the annexation of Texas, and his insi-stance
upon a vigorous prosecution of the war with Mexico. He
was a general of the Ohio militia, and an ardent Democrat.
His wife was Sarah Allen McCue, a daughter of Rev. John
McCue, an eminent Presbyterian minister, who succeeded
Dr. James Waddel in the pastorate of the Tinkling Spring
Church. The wife of Rev. John McCue, and mother of
Mrs. McDowell, was a daughter of James Allen, of Au-
gusta county ; one of her sisters was the mother of Gov-
ernor Allen Trimble. Two of the sons of Hon. Joseph
Jefferson McDowell removed to Richmond, Kentucky,
The McDowells. 23
where one of them married a daughter of Judge Breck,
and the other a Miss Rodes. Sarah, daughter of Colonel
Joe McDowell, of the Quaker Meadows, married John Mat-
thews, a native of Augusta county, who moved to Fayette
county, Kentucky, where he died, in 1814; they had four
children, one of whom was Rev. Joseph McDowell Mat-
thews, of the Methodist Church, well known as the able
and successful president- of female colleges at Nicholas-
ville, Kentucky, and Hillshoro, Ohio. Dr. Matthews was
three times married, and left three children, one by his
first and two by his second wife. Margaret, another daugh-
ter of Col. Joe McDowell, of the Quaker Meadows, and
Margaret Moffett, married her kinsman by the half-blood,
the distinguished Governor Allen Trimble, of Ohio, and
was the mother of Rev. Joseph McDowell Trimble, of the
Methodist Church; of Madison Trimble, of Hillsboro,
Ohio; and of Colonel Win. II. Trimble, of the same place.
The latter represented Highland county in the legislature
several terms, with marked ability. Though fifty years
old when the civil war broke out, his inherited military
spirit asserted itself; he recruited the Sixtieth Ohio Regi-
ment, of a thousand men, and fought at their head in the
battle of Cross Keys. The misfortunes of war transferring
him to the command of Colonel Miles, the bri«-ade which
he commanded made a most gallant and persistent defense
at Harper's Ferry against the assaults of more than three
times their number, under Hill and Ewcll; it was no fault
of his that the slaughter-pen was captured by the Confed-
erates. A fall from his horse compelled his resignation
just as promotion was tendered him. Celia and Clarissa
McDowell, daughters of Colonel Joe and Margaretta Mof-
fett, married their relatives, Chrismans. and some of their
relatives live in Jessamine county, Kentucky. Colonel
Joseph McDowell was truly a worthy block from the
gnarled Scotch-Irish tree which gave to this country a
race so prolific of soldiers. His widow, Margaretta, after
his death, returned to Virginia, and thence removed to
Woodford county, Kentucky, where she died, in 1815.
Mary, the second daughter of Colonel George Moffett and
24 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Sarah McDowell, also married her relative, Captain or
Major Joseph McDowell, a son of "Hunting John'" Mc-
Dowell, of the "Pleasant Garden." Her husband was the
first cousin of the Major or Colonel Joe, who married her
sister, Margaret. His father, "Hunting John," was the
first of the McDowells to move to the Catawba country.
Draper narrates that when Charles McDowell called the
leading men of the Catawba valley together, in 1780, and,
to meet the present emergency, suggested that they should
repair to Gilbert Town, and there take British protection,
as the only means of saving their live stock, which were
essential to the support of the country — -justifying it as a
temporary expedient — "Hunting John" absolutely re-
fused to adopt the suggestion. With others who agreed
with him, he proposed to drive all the stock they could
collect into the deep coves at the base of the Black
Mountain, leaving to others the humiliating office of tak-
ing protection, in order to save the remainder. The dis-
tinguished Indian fighter, Captain John Carson, and the
Davidsons, and others, were selected to take protection,
which they did, deeming it justifiable and not unpatriotic
under the circumstances. His son, Joseph McDowell, who
married Mary Moffett, was born at the Pleasant Garden,
February 25, 1758. A boy when the Revolution broke
out, he immediately went into active service in the patriot
army. He soon rose to a captaincy in the Burke regi-
ment, of which his cousins Charles was the colonel and
Joseph the major. He was with it in every fight in which
it was engaged. At King's Mountain, while Major Jo-
seph, of Quaker Meadows, acted as colonel, Captain Jo-
seph, of Pleasant Garden, acted as major. Hence the dis-
pute as to which of the two it was who commanded in
that fight, They were equally brave, equally patriotic,
equally able. Captain Joe, of the Pleasant Garden, is the
one known in history as major, while lie of the Quaker
Meadows is known as colonel. Both were at the Cow-
pens, where Tarleton succumbed to the sturdy blows of the
wagoner, Morgan'. Serving from the beginning to the
close of the war for independence, .Major Joe possessed
The McDowells. 25
the fighting characteristics which distinguished the breed
in all its branches. In the Rutherford campaign he killed
an Indian in single combat.. Educated as' a physician, his
distinction as a statesman was not less than that he won
as a soldier. As Joseph McDowell, Jr., he served in the
North Carolina House of Commons from 1787 to 1792.
McDowell county, North Carolina, was named for him.
He was also a member of the North Carolina Convention
of 1788, and was generally regarded as the brightest intel-
lect of any of the North Carolina connection. He died in
1795, leaving several children. The late Colonel James
McDowell, a distinguished citizen of Yancey county,
North Carolina, was one of his sons; the "Woodfins, of
the same county, are his descendants. John McDowell,
of Rutherford, an able member of the House of Commons
from 1820 to 1823, was another of his sons. One of his
daughters married her cousin, Captain Charles McDowell,
of Burke, son of General Charles and Grizel Greenlee.
Still another daughter married her cousin, Caleb, son of
Samuel McDowell, the oldest son of Captain John and
Magdalena Wood. After the death of Major Joseph Mc-
Dowell, his widow, Mary, married Captain John Carson,
the Indian tighter, already mentioned as having taken
British protection in 1780, and afterward a member of
Congress. By him she had a number of children, the
most conspicuous of whom was Hon. Samuel P. Carson, a
native and resident of Burke county, and equally distin-
guished for his activity of mind, energy of character, warm
and enthusiastic temper, and patriotic sentiments. Elected
to the state senate from Burke in 1822, he was re-elected
in 1821. In 1825, he was elected to Congress over Dr.
Robert B. Vance, and remained in that body as a useful
member until 1833. In his second contest with Dr. Vance,
in 1827, debates between them grew bitter and personal.
Dr. Vance sneeringly charged that Captain John Carson,
the venerable father of his antagonist, had been a Tory,
founding his assertion upon the fact that he had taken
protection under the circumstances already stated. The
aspersion was immediately and heatedly resented. The
26 Historic Families of Kentucky.
duel that followed, in the fall of 1827, at Saluda Gap, in
South Carolina, resulted in the fall of Dr. Vance with a
severe wound, from which he soon died. Hon. S. P. ('ar-
son was succeeded in Congress by Hon. James Graham.
Soon after 1833, he removed to Arkansas, in which state
he died, in 1840. The esteem in which the breed was held
in North Carolina is well attested by the fact that, from
1778 to 1850, Burke county was scarcely at any time with-
out one of the connection in one or the other branch of the
general assembly, in Congress, or in some other position
of honor and trust — Charles and the two Joes, John M.,
the younger Charles, John, J. R., and James McDowell ;
John, William, and 8. P. Carson ; David and John Mitchell
Greenlee; the Tates, Woodfins, and others; — and they
still hold their own, there and elsewhere, in the old North
State.
Chrismans.
When Joist Hite, the adventurous and intelligent Ger-
man, made the first settlement in the valley of Virginia,
in what is now the county of Frederick, his sons-in-law,
Bowman and Chrisman, settled near him, on the Opequan,
and soon thereafter the Scotch-Irish began to rear around
them their habitations. Their "meeting house," a sub-
stantial stone building surrounded by oak trees, stood
about three miles from Winchester, on the road leading
to Staunton. The names of Bowman and Chrisman are
of German origin. Both became famous in the Indian
wars. The brave. Captain John Bowman, who married
Grizel Greenlee, and fell at Monsour's Mills, was a de-
scendant of Hite. The Chrismans also spread themselves
through the valley and into North Carolina. One of
them, also a descendant of Hite, married a daughter of
Joseph McDowell, Sr., of Quaker Meadows, a sister of
General Charles, who married the widow of Captain John
Bowman, and of Colonel Joseph, of the Quaker Meadows;
the Hites, Bowmans, Chrismans, and the North Carolina
McDowells, had been neighbors in Frederick county.
This Chrisman, and the sister of the McDowells of the
Quaker Meadows, had a number of children. Two of
The McDowells. 27
them, Hugh, and Joseph Chrisman, Sr., came to Jessamine
county, Kentucky, where yet live many of their descend-
ants, who have extensively intermarried back among their
McDowell kindred, as will be seen in its proper connec-
tion. We return to
The Moffetts.
Magdalen, the third daughter of Colonel George and
Sarah (McDowell) Moffett, married James Cochran.
George M. Cochran, of Staunton, and John Cochran, of
Charlottesville, were their sons. George M. Cochran, Jr.,
great-grandson of Colonel George Moffett, married his
relative, Margaret Lynn Peyton, daughter of John Howe
Peyton — eminent as a lawyer, as a statesman, and as an
orator — and his second wife, Ann Montgomery Lewis,
who was a daughter of Major John Lewis and Mary Pres-
ton, a granddaughter of Colonel William Lewis, known
as the " Civilizer of the Border," and a great-grand-
daughter of the Irish John Lewis, the first settler in the
Beverly manor. John Cochran, grandson of Colonel Mof-
fett, married Margaret Lynn Lewis, another daughter of
Major John Lewis. Colonel George Moffett's daughter,
Martha, married Captain Robert Kirk, of the United
States army; and his daughter, Elizabeth, married James
Miller, the owner of large iron works in A T irginia. George
Moffett married a Miss Gilkerson, and removed to Ken-
tucky; while James Moffett, another son of Colonel
George, married Hannah Miller, sister of the above-named
James Miller. Colonel Henry McDowell Moffett was the
son of James and Hannah Moffett.
James McDowell.
James, the second son of Captain John McDowell and
Magdalena "Wood, was born at the Red House, near Fair-
field, Rockbridge county, in 1739. He died early, in 1771,
but not before he had gained the confidence of the com-
munity in which he had been born and lived. Intrusted
with the sheriffalty of his county, he was on his way to
Richmond on the business of the important office when
the summons came. He married Elizabeth Cloyd, by
28 Historic Families of Kentucky.
whom he had six children; she lived until 1810. Their
daughter, Sarah, married her cousin, Major John Mc-
Dowell, of whom hereafter. Elizabeth married David'
McGavock, and, removing to Nashville, Tennessee, he-
came the ancestress of the numerous family of that name
in that locality, than which no other in that state is more
eminently respectable and worthy ; there the name of Mc-
Gavock is synonymous with honor, integrity, and valor.
James, the youngest son of James McDowell and Eliza-
beth Cloyd, inherited the magnificent estate left by his
father, and there, planting vines and fig trees, continued
to reside until his death. Better than the large wealth
that descended to him, and to which he added, he in-
herited also with his name the high moral qualities, good
sense, and soldierly instincts of the McDowells. In 1812,
as a colonel in the American army, he won honor and
fame. He married Sarah, one of the daughters of the first
Colonel William Preston, and granddaughter of John Pres-
ton and Elizabeth Patton, from whom so many distin-
guished men and noble women of that and other names
have sprung. Colonel William Preston was himself an
active participant in the Revolutionary struggle. As his
assistants and deputies, John Floyd, John Todd, Douglas,
Hancock Taylor, Hancock Lee, and others, made their
first surveys and explorations in Kentucky, the Indian
hunting land and battle ground. Colonel James McDow-
ell and Sarah Preston had three children. Susan, their
oldest daughter, married Colonel William Taylor, a prom-
inent lawyer of Alexandria, and from 1843 to his death,
in 1846, the able representative in Congress from that dis-
trict; their son, Dr. James McDowell Taylor, was, in 1886,
still an active practicing physician in Rockbridge; another
son, Rev. Robert Taylor, married Elizabeth McNaught,
and had two daughters, one of whom, Margaret P., mar-
ried a Smith, and lives in Missouri; their daughter, Susan,
married Hon. John B. Weller, a native of Ohio, who re-
moved 1<> California in the early emigration 'of 1849, came
back in 1852 as United States senator, held the place with
distinguished credit until 1857, was governor of California
The McDowells. 29
from 1858-60, minister to Mexico, 1861, and died in 1875,
leaving a son, John B. "Weller, Jr., who has gained prom-
inence as a law} T er in the Golden State; another son, Will-
iam Taylor, is a successful lawyer in California; and still
another, Thomas Benton Taylor, who married a daughter
of Rev. Dr. Nathan L. Rice, the celebrated Presbyterian
divine, is a leading member of the bar of Chicago. The
second daughter of Colonel James McDowell and Sarah
Preston, Elizabeth by name, was the wife of Hon. Thomas
Hart Benton, for thirty years the able and distinguished
United States senator from Missouri, and a man as re-
markable for his extraordinary force and decision of char-
acter as he was for the splendid physical courage which
never flickered, and which age was powerless to cool.
The efforts of "Old Hickory" to bully him met with fail-
ure and disaster; it was one of the few instances in which
Jackson mistook his man. At various times in the career
of Colonel Benton, allusion was made to an alleged act of
dishonesty while he was still a boy at college — charges
unnecessary now to be discussed. A sufficient answer to
all such imputations upon his integrity is found in the
fact that, during his thirty years of arduous, faithful, and
able service in the senate, no whisper of venality was ever
made against him ; that he lived simply, had no extrava-
gant habit or vice, and that he died poor. One of his
daughters married General John C. Fremont, and another,
that true patriot and gallant soldier, Colonel Richard T.
Jacob, of Kentucky. Both were women of inherited tal-
ents and remarkable strength of character.
Governor James McDowell.
The third child, and only son, of Colonel James and Sa-
rah (Preston) McDowell was also named James ; as a gen-
tleman, graceful and accomplished; as a man, the soul of
honor and truth ; as a congressman, United States senator
and chief executive of his native Virginia, beloved, able,
and most honorably and highly distinguished. Generally
the McDowells were men of action, born soldiers, practi-
cal and sensible, not given to gush nor to display in words,
30 Historic Families of Kentucky.
and little gifted with fluent speech. Those of North Car-
olina wore good talkers as well as ready fighters, but as
speakers they were strong and earnest rather than brill-
iant. But this James McDowell, senator and governor,
got from the Pattons, through his Preston mother, the
rare gift of true eloquence and graceful oratory, combined
with reasoning powers of a high order. These were sel-
dom aroused to the magnificent height of their full splen-
dor ; but on the few occasions when their owner was spur-
red on by the excitement of intellectual conflict, and had
his metal tested by the heat of actual combat, they burst
forth with the brilliancy of real genius, which none can
ever show who have not the spark divine, and with a sur-
prising and resistless fervor which swept all before it and
captured every auditor. To enter into a detail of the in-
cidents of his virtuous life or public career would be for-
eign to the purpose of the writer. His noble w T ife was his
first cousin, one of the talented daughters of General
Francis Preston, noted for the exhibition of handsome
talents as a congressman from Virginia, and for courage
and good conduct as an officer in the War of 1812 ; he was
the son of the first Colonel William Preston, and grand-
son of the first John Preston, of Virginia, both of whom
have already been referred to. General Francis Preston's
wife was the daughter of Colonel William Campbell, who
was given the command at King's Mountain, at the in-
stance of Isaac Shelby, who had planned the campaign;
at whose instance, also, Campbell had marched his com-
mand from Virginia into Xorth Carolina, and who, with
Sevier, Winston, and the two Joe McDowells were the
real heroes of the fight ; in subsequent engagements, es-
pecially at Guilford Court House, Colonel Campbell won
honor and renown. Colonel Campbell's wife, the mother
of Mrs. Preston, and grandmother of Mrs. McDowell, was
one of the sisters of the great orator of the Revolution,
Patrick Henry ; their mother, Sarah Winston, came of a
prolific race, remarkably gifted with a high order of* elo-
quence, graceful manners, and great mental force. The
wives of Rev. Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, the
The McDowells. 31
ablest of Presbyterian divines, and of John B. Floyd, of Vir-
ginia, Secretary of War under President Buchanan, were
Mrs. McDowell's sisters, while their husbands were her own
and Governor McDowell's cousins. William C. Preston, the
learned scholar, the gifted orator, and able statesman, of
South Carolina, and General John S. Preston, a brilliant
orator and gallant soldier of the same state, were her
brothers. One of Governor McDowell's sons, Dr. James
McDowell, married Elizabeth Brant, a wealthy lady of St.
Louis, went to France and was for years a successful phy-
sician in Paris ; his daughter, Sallie Benton McDowell,
married her relative, Wickliffe Preston, of Lexington,
Kentucky; and his son, Brant McDowell, of St. Louis, is
said to be the only living male descendant of the name, of
James McDowell and Elizabeth Cloyd. Governor McDow-
ell's daughter, Sallie Campbell Preston, married, first, Gov-
ernor Francis Thomas, of Maryland, and, afterward, Rev.
John Miller, of Princeton, New Jersey. His daughter,
Sophonisba Preston Benton, married the late Colonel
James Woods Massie, a professor in the Virginia Military
Institute. Susan Preston, another daughter of Governor
McDowell, married Colonel Charles Carrington, of Rich-
mond, Virginia; and still another, Margaret Canty, mar-
ried Prof. Charles P. Venable, of the University of Vir-
ginia; while the youngest daughter, Eliza P. B., married
the late Major Barnard Wolffe. Thomas Lewis McDow-
ell, youngest son of the governor, died in the Confederate
army; his widow, Constance Warwick, and their only
child, Susan McDowell, live in Richmond, Virginia.
Judge Samuel McDowell.
The oldest son of Captain John McDowell (son of old
Ephraim, of Londonderry) and the three times married
Magdalena Wood, was Samuel; born in the Colony of
Pennsylvania, in 1735 ; removed to Virginia in 1787, after
his father had made the settlement in Burden's Grant ; and
who became, in future years, the progenitor of the Ken-
tucky branch of the name and race. His father dying
during his childhood, the education he received, though
32 Historic Families of Kentucky.
neither collegiate nor classical, was far better than that
usually obtained in a border and debatable land, even
when it is held by a race so intelligent and enterprising as
the Scotch-Irish, by whom the valley was peopled; his
familiar letters to his children, indicating not only strong
sense, unaffected piety, and an affectionate heart, but also
educated intelligence, were admirably written. Archibald
Alexander, who had been liberally educated in the old
country, and with whose descendants his own intermar-
ried, was one of his teachers; the McClungs, Paxtons, Stu-
arts, Lyles, Irvines, Reids, Moores, Campbells were his
school-fellows and playmates, the companions of his youth,
the associates and friends of his manhood. The most val-
uable lessons taught him were those of self-reliance, love
of liberty, and fear of God; that these were sown on good
and fruitful soil, the record of his whole life attests. Like
other youth of the hardy race among whom his early life
and manhood were passed, the exposed situation of a
frontier settlement inured him from infancy to the endur-
ance of hardship and to indifference to danger. In the
troubles with raiding Indians, in the more serious vicissi-
tudes of the French and Indian war, the dawn of his man-
hood saw frequent and meritorious military service, in
which he acquitted himself with credit, and obtained most
valuable experience. In Henning's Statutes, his name
appears, in an act passed by the Virginia Assembly in
1758, in the list of soldiers from Augusta county engaged
in the arduous campaigns of that war, and in 1775, a large
tract of land was surveyed for him in Fayette county,
Kentucky, and awarded to him for his services. Withers
errs, in his " Chronicles of Border Warfare," in stating
that .John McDowell was in Samuel Lewis's company at
Braddock's defeat. John McDowell had been killed thir-
teen years before the disastrous battle. It was his oldest
son, Samuel McDowell, who was a private soldier in that
company at that battle and in the following campaigns.
His kinsman, Andrew Lewis, was the lieutenant of the
company; Thomas, William, and Charles Lewis, and a
number of McClungs and Paxtons — the kinsmen of his
The McDowells. 33
wife — were his companions in arms. In Dunmore's war,
in 1774, he was captain of a company from Augusta
county, Lis name appearing in that capacity on the orig-
inal official list of the brave men who, under the leader-
ship of his intrepid kinsman, Andrew Lewis, heat hack
Cornstalk and his painted warriors at Point Pleasant. A
copy of this list is in the hands of Mr. Ilixon, the his-
torian. It was Samuel McDowell, at the head of his brave
men from Augusta, who, after Colonel Charles Lewis had
fallen, and the gallant Colonel Fleming had been carried
desperately wounded from the bloody field, and the line of
battle of the Virginians was wavering and yielding ground,
charged along with Colonel Field, of the Culpepper men,
drove back to their coverts the advancing, whooping, tri-
umphant Indians, and snatched victoryfrom the jaws of dis-
aster. In the stubborn retreat of the savages, the chival-
rous Field, who also had done his part well in 1755, fell.
The official records show that Captain Samuel McDowell,
in command of a company of scouts, did frequent and val-
uable service during that memorable campaign in which
the power of the Shawanese was broken, both before and
after the bloody battle. In the Revolution, he was colonel
of a regiment of militia from Augusta, which guarded the
mountain passes, kept in subjection the western and south-
ern Indians, and gloriously participted in General Greene's
North Carolina campaign, the turning-point of the war.
At Guilford Court-house, under the immediate command
of Colonel Samuel McDowell, the regiment again and
again drove back the British regulars, acting the part of
veterans, and maintaining its ground until assailed in
flank by the British cavalry, and left unsupported. In
this attack and retreat, its major, Alexander Stuart, the
ancestor of General J. E. B. Stuart, had his horse killed,
was captured, but fortunately escaped unwounded. In its
ranks, the distinguished Judge Archibald Stuart fought as
a private soldier. When a part of the regiment fell into
disorder and scattered, Colonel McDowell, with the remain-
der, continued with the army ; and when, against his protest
3
34 Historic Fmii Hies of Kerttttcki).
and remonstrance, the men returned to their homes, he con-
tinued with Genera] Greene, and participated in the pur-
suit which drove Cornwallis to Wilmington.
For several terms preceding the Revolution, the free-
holders of Augusta, which then included what was after-
ward formed into Rockbridge, chose Samuel McDowell
as one of their representatives in the House of Burgesses,
an honormost worthily conferred in troublous times, when
none but the foremost, and best, and truest were trusted.
In all the meetings and movements in Colonial Virginia
which led to the struggle for independence, he had an ac-
tive part; of every deliberative body which assumed pro-
gressively advancing ground against monarchical and par-
liamentary encroachments upon popular and individual
rights, he was a prominent member. In IT'!"). John Har-
vie, Thomas Lewis, the near-sighted but able and learned
son of old John, and Samuel McDowell, were the Bur-
gesses sent to the assembly from Augusta. That year, the
celebrated Resolutions of Remonstrance of Patrick Henry
had, besides their eloquent author, no more able or zealous
advocate than the 'scholarly Lewis, nor a tinner nor more
ardent supporter than Samuel McDowell, kinsmen, and
Calvinists by descent and training. The freemen of Au-
gusta pronounced decisively for the position taken by the
men they loved as well as trusted, and from them came
the clear notes that re-echoed throughout the colony, and
were every-where caught up and repeated by the lovers of
liberty, in the years intervening before the outbreak of
actual hostilities, to Lewis and McDowell was confided the
duty of voicing the patriotic sentiments of the people of
Augusta. They did not desire nor look to a separation
from the mother country; it was a representation in the
councils of those who levied taxes upon their property and
commerce that they demanded, and without which they
would never rest content; they did not propose hastily to
fly to arms for a redress of grievances, nor indulge in
angry menace nor impetuous clamor; their protests were
at once moderate, dignified, and respectful: and it was not
until their repeated earnest petitions had been rejected with
The McDowells. 35
contemptuous scorn, and every other resource had failed,
that they resolved to appeal to the God of Hosts as a rem-
edy for oppression that laid to them become intolerable.
Ten years later than the ratification of the Henry Resolu-
tions of Remonstrance by the people of Augusta, and a year
in advance of the formal Declaration of Independence by
the convention of delegates of the United Colonies, the
people of Augusta chose Thomas Lewis and Samuel Mc-
Dowell to represent them in the convention composed of
delegates from the counties and corporations of the Vir-
ginia colony, which met at Richmond on the 20th of
March, 1775; and these kinsmen, fitting representatives of
this fine historic race, clansmen of an antique type, Cal-
vinists of the strictest sect, received from their constitu-
ents instructions well calculated to tire every patriotic
heart, which sounded the tocsin that rang throughout the
hills and valleys of all the colonies, and were in effect their
own declaration of independence. If these instructions
were indeed drawn by Rev. Mr. Balmaine, an Episcopal
minister, as stated by Meade, it is worthy of note that
Mr. Balmaine was educated by Calvinists for the church
founded in Scotland by John Knox. Their temper and
spirit are sufficiently indicated by a single paragraph:
"Many of us and our forefathers left our native land,
and explored this once savage wilderness, to enjoy the free
exercise of the rights of conscience and of human nature.
These rights we are fully resolved, with our lives and our
fortunes, inviolably to preserve; nor will we surrender
such estimable blessings, the purchase of toil and danger,
to any ministry, to any parliament, or any body of men
upon earth, by whom we are not represented, and in
whose decisions, therefore, we have no voice.""
In obedience to these instructions, Lewis and McDowell
addressed to George Washington, Patrick Henry, Ben.
Harrison, and the four other delegates from the colony to
the Continental Congress which had recently been held in
Philadelphia, a letter of thanks for their services and cor-
dial approval of their course, couched in the most elegant
language and breathing the most exalted patriotism; re-
ceiving from their illustrious correspondents a response
36 Historic Families of Kentucky.
which manifests the high appreciation in which they them-
selves were held. -lust one month after those letters were
written, the convention met in the old church at Rich-
mond, where the eloquent speech of Patrick Henry was
made that set in motion the great bah of the Revolution,
and lighted the torch of liberty which has since been as a
beacon-lire to the world. Samuel McDowell was a mem-
ber also of the second convention which met in Williams-
burg, in 1776, which instructed the Virginia delegates to
the Continental Congress to tl declare the United Colonies
free and independent states, absolved from all allegiance to
or dependence on the crown or parliament of Great Brit-
ain ;" erected the colony into a state, of which Patrick
Henry was made the first governor; adopted the bill of
rights and plan of government drawn by George Mason ;
and elected officers to command the first nine regiments
organized in Virginia. Later in the struggle, when the
Virginia state government was driven by the British from
its capital, he was selected as one of the State Council, a
most important and responsible position, and, in the dark-
est hour of the inchoate federal republic, accepted and
ably and fearlessly discharged the high duties of the trust.
The battle for public liberty and political independence
having been fought out to a successful issue, in conjunc-
tion with Colonel Thomas Marshall he was appointed sur-
veyor of the public lands in Fayette county, then com-
prising one-third of the District of Kentucky ; in 1783,
be opened an office, at once entering upon the faithful and
intelligent discharge of its duties; the position was one
that demanded not merely technical skill in the surveyor's
art, but, in addition, the highest order of incorruptible
personal integrity. During the same year, be presided as
one of the judges of the first District Court ever held in
Kentucky — at Harrodsburg, March 3, 1783 — John Floyd
and George Muter being his associate judges, but the
latter not attending. Removing his family to what is now
Mercer county, in 1784, two years later, in 1786, he was
one of the presiding judges at the first county court held
in the Kentucky District ; henceforth he was known as
Judge Samuel McDowell, to distinguish him from his son
The McDowells. 37
of the same name. A decade subsequent to the Augusta
Declaration of Independence, in 1775, the hardy, resolute,
warlike, and restlessly independent settlers in Kentucky,
then a remote district of the State of Virginia, from which
it was separated by hundreds of miles of rugged moun-
tains and roadless forests, began to agitate anew and with
settled purpose the question of political separation from
that ancient Commonwealth — a separation which, so early
as 1775, had been vaguely outlined by George Rogers
Clarke, who, consistently with the tenor of his' whole pub-
lic and private life, and with the principles that regulated
all his conduct, looked not to legal but to revolutionary
methods to reach the end desired. Over the convention
which met in Danville in 1785, and over all the subsequent
conventions which assembled fur the consideration of this
momentous question, and the discussion of the means ot
attaining the end in view, Judge Samuel McDowell was
chosen to preside — "his social position, his solid attain-
ments, his matured convictions, his high character, his ju-
dicial temper, his tine presence, his popular manners, and
his peculiar and varied experience of public life, com-
bining to admirably qualify him for the position, and to
center upon him the attention, confidence, and respect of
the able men who were associated with him in these early
throes of the inchoate state." It was by the moderation
and patient discretion of the presiding officer, and the
calm patriotism of others like him, as well as by the keen
vigilance of Colonel Thomas Marshall, and far more than
by the tierce and direct assaults of others which savored
of personal and partizan animosities, that the " sagacious
policy of calculated procrastination" was adopted, the
schemes of conspirators who plotted to tear Kentucky
from her connection with Virginia, and even from her
moorings to the general government, and to achieve in
lieu thereof a political and commercial alliance with
cruel and treacherous Spain, were thwarted, a solution of
the difficulties of a separation from Virginia legally and
peacefully reached, and all the commercial advantages of
the free and unobstructed navigation of the Mississippi
38 Historic Families of Kentucky.
were finally obtained. In the troublous and unsettled
times in Kentucky, lie was the " centra] figure of an his-
toric group, conspicuous, like himself, for courage, intelli-
gence, fortitude, dignity of character, and mental poise.
All were representative men — types of a cultivated class,
and of a vigorous, aggressive, and enduring race." * After
having presided over the nine conventions which consid-
ered the question of a separation from Virginia, Judge
Samuel McDowell was also president of the convention
which, in 1792, framed the first state constitution for Ken-
tucky. He was one of the first circuit court judges, and
one of the first district judges of the new state —
appointed by old "King's Mountain''' Shelby, by whose
side he had fought at Point Pleasant; as well as the first
United States judge — appointed by Washington, under
whose eye he had served in the campaign on the Monon-
gahela, in 1755, and who Avell knew his worth. In these
positions, as in all others, he acquitted himself with credit
and honor. Respected for his strong sense, for an integ-
rity that never bended, for an uprightness of conduct as
unassailable in public as it was in private life, and for a
pleasing simplicity of character, he lived to the good old
age of eighty-two years, and died honored of all at the
residence of his son. Colonel Joseph McDowell, near Dan-
ville, September 25, 1817. Under the law of primogeni-
ture then prevailing in Virginia, he had inherited the
whole of the estate left by his father. The clear sense of
justice and native generosity characteristic of the man, so
soon as he became of age were attested by the voluntary
division of his inheritance equally with his brother and
sister, the latter receiving almost all of the personalty.
He was a Federalist of the school of Washington, between
whom and these men of the Valley there was always the
closest sympathy ; and in his letters to his son-in-law, Gen-
eral Andrew Iieid, who was a decided Jefferson ian, his
Federal sentiments were enunciated in terms at once vig-
orous and unique. In religion, he was a Presbyterian —
*Vide "The Genesis of a Pioneer Commonwealth."
The McDowells. 39
John Knox himself was no more stern nor unyielding.
In person, he was tall, erect, and stately. His forehead
was high, square, and prominent; his head "long" above
the ears; his face long, with a chin and mouth indicating
decision, firmness, and high spirit, without heat or passion.
The general effect was handsome, dignified, invited con-
fidence, and enforced respect.
On the 17th of January, 1754, at the age of eighteen,
Judge Samuel McDowell married Mary McClung. She
was a native of Ireland — hut, like himself, of Scotch de-
scent — and had emigrated with a sister and four brothers
a few years prior to her marriage. The sister and two
brothers settled with her in what was then Augusta
county. The sister married an Alexander. Her brother,
John McClung, also married Elizabeth Alexander, daugh-
ter of Archibald Alexander and Margaret Parks, and sis-
ter to the William Alexander who was the father of the
distinguished Dr. Archibald Alexander, of Princeton Theo-
logical Seminary. John McClung and Elizabeth Alexan-
der were the parents of Judge William McClung, of Ken-
tucky. By this fitting union was grafted another strain
of silent fighting blood upon the tough McDowell stock,
developing in their descendants not in personal rencoun-
ters, but in the line of duty and on the battle fields of their
country.
Major John McDowell.
John, their oldest son, was born in Virginia, in 1757, re-
ceiving the best education that could be obtained in those
days of peril, from teachers who had frequently to lay
aside the ferule in order to grasp the rifle. The writer is
under the impression that he was a volunteer in the cam-
paign against the Indians known as Dunmore's War, but
he w T as not with his father's company at Point Pleasant,
nor does his name anywhere appear in the list of the
brave men who were under Andrew Lewis in that bloody
light. At the beginning of the Revolution, he volunteered
in the patriot army, went at once into active service, and
continued therein until the close of the struggle, from
which he emerged with the rank of captain and a well-
1° Historic Families of Kentucky.
earned reputation for gallantry. He belonged to the Vir-
ginia line of the Continental establishment ; that is, to the
regulars. He was with Washington at the crossing of the
Delaware, fought at Princeton and Trenton, and endured
the rigors of the winter camp at Valley Forge. At Bran-
dywine he w T as severely wounded, was in the hottest of the
fight at Monmouth, and witnessed the surrender of Corn-
wallis at Yorktown. With such a record, and a staunch
Federalist, he naturally became a member of the Society
of the Cincinnati. If he purchased a lot in the town of
Lexington, Kentucky, in 1781, as stated by Collins, he did
not then remove into the district. He certainly made a
purchase at a sale of lots in that town in 1788, and in the
following year brought his family to Fayette county, wdiere
he made his permanent settlement. In all the Indian cam-
paigns after 1785 he had an active part. Immediately
after the establishment of the state, in 1792, he was ap-
pointed one of the first three majors commissioned by
Shelby, who had fought beside his father at Point Pleas-
ant, had conquered with his kinsmen at King's Mountain,
and knew full well the quality and value of the man ; the
other two majors, commissioned at the same time, were his
brother James and John Morrison. In the War of 1812
he earned distinction in the rank of major. His father
had been prominent in every movement that led to the
erection of the new commonwealth; but his selection, by
the people of Fayette, to represent them in the first state
legislature, that assembled in 1792, was a fitting tribute to
his own intelligence, worth and admitted capacity for af-
fairs. His associates in the then important trust were such
men as Colonel Robert Patterson, Colonel William Russell,
Hubbard Taylor, and James Trotter. That lie acquitted
himself well in civil office, as he had done in the field, is
evidenced by his re-election six times to the same position.
In 1799, he was a member of the convention that framed
the second state constitution, that lasted fifty years. He
married his first cousin, Sarah, daughter of dames Mc-
Dowell and Elizabeth Cloyd. 1. Their son, .lames, married
Susan, daughter of Governor Shelby — a most appropriate
The McDowells. 41
union of two patriot families ; the descendants of these
two are numerous. 2. Major John McDowell's son, John,
removed to Alabama, and, in Greene county of that state,
married Miss Sarah McAlpin. From Alabama he went to
Mississippi, and settled on a cotton plantation he owned in
Rankin county. His son, William, never married ; he be-
longed to the Fifth Texas Confederate Brigade, was des-
perately wounded and captured at Gettysburg, and died in
prison. Elizabeth married William Slaughter, a Confed-
erate soldier, by whom she has several children. James
graduated at the Missouri Medieal College, of St. Louis,
was adjutant of a Mississippi Confederate regiment, and
was killed at Jenkins' Ferry ; he was never married. John
married a Miss Slaughter, was a soldier in the Confederate
army, and died in the service. Solomon McAlpin McDowell
was a soldier in the Eighteenth Mississippi Infantry, and was
badly wounded and permanently disabled at Ball's Bluff;
lie married a Miss McLauren. Blanton McAlpin McDow-
ell, the fifth and youngest son of John, entered the Con-
federate army at fifteen years of age, and died from dis-
ease contracted in the service. 3. Major John McDowell's
son, Samuel, married Betsy Chrisman, daughter of Hugh
Chrisman, of Jessamine county, whose mother was, as al-
ready stated, a sister of General Charles and Colonel Joe
McDowell, of North Carolina ; Lucy McDowell, their only
child, became the second wife of Dr. Alexander Iv. Mar-
shall, son of Dr. Louis Marshall and Agatha Smith;
Lucy's only son, Louis Chrisman Marshall, a farmer in
Fayette county, is married to his cousin, Agatha, daugh-
ter of Chancellor Caleb W. Logan. 4. Major John Mc-
Dowell's daughter, Betsy, married Rev. William MePhee-
ters, and 5, Mary was the first wife of Major Thomas Hart
Shelby, son of the governor, and an officer in the War of
of 1812. She died without issue, and Major Shelby sub-
sequently married a daughter of Edmund Bullock, by
whom he had a number of children.
Major McDowell, after the death of his first wife,
married, secondly, Lucy Le Grand, descended from a
French Huguenot, who, after leaving Bohain, of which he
42 Historic Families of Kentucky.
was a native, was naturalized in England, whence he emi-
grated to New York. There, in 1699, he united with the
Reformed Dutch Church — a Calvinistic organization.
From New York some of his descendants found their way
to Virginia, where one of them, Rev. Nashe Le Grand, he-
came one of the most eloquent and best beloved of Pres-
byterian ministers. Major John McDowell and Lucy Le
Grand were the parents of the celebrated
Dr. Joseph Nashe McDowell,
of St. Louis — a man singularly unlike his kindred iirhis ec-
centric temper and erratic career, but of unquestioned learn-
ing and genius in his profession, and in other lines of science
and thought. Noted as a skillful physician and surgeon,
the city of his adoption owes to him the establishment of
its best medical school, while the profession recognizes in
him one of its most advanced thinkers, one of its boldest
and most skillful operators, and one of the most cultivated
of its publicists. From Dr. Gross, with whom he fre-
quently came in angry collision, his superior talents ex-
torted the admission, that " Dr. McDowell was an eloquent
and enthusiastic teacher of anatomy ; he had a remarka-
ble gift of speech, and could entertain and amuse his class
in a wonderful degree/' But it was not solely as a lecturer
in medicine and surgery that the oratorical gifts of Dr.
McDowell shone conspicuously. Of varied and extensive
culture, his gifts made him the delight of literary circles,
and the West contained no more eloquent speaker upon
political topics than was this able and learned teacher of
the healing art. lie abandoned the rigid Calvinism of the
McDowells without adopting the gentler tenets of Armin-
ianism. Discarding their Federalism, his devotion to the
Lost Cause made him an exile from his home and country.
In Europe died a man whose learning, genius and enthusi-
asm, had liis Life been guided by the principles and religion
of his lathers, would have placed him at the very head of
his profession, and have made him eminent in any walk of
life in any country. Dr. Nashe McDowell married a sister
of I he able Dr. Daniel Drake — an aunt of Judge Charles
The McDowells. 43
W. Drake, formerly of the St. Louis har, and now of the
United States Court of Claims. He left by her, among
other children, a son, who attained distinction as a surgeon
and physician in St. Louis. Before his early death, his
fame in the West, as a surgeon, and especially as a demon-
strator of anatomy, was second to no other.
7. Charles McDowell, son of Major John, by his second
wife, married Miss Redd. 8. Betsy McDowell, daughter
of Major John, married Henderson Bell. 9. Sallie Mc-
Dowell, daughter of Major John, married James Allen, a
prominent citizen of Fayette. 10. Lucy, the youngest
child of Major John McDowell and Lucy Le Grand, was
the wife of David Meade Woodson. This gentleman was
one of the sons of Samuel Hiiffh Woodson.
Woodson
is a good old Virginian name, one of the family, Colonel
John Woodson, of Goochland, marrying Dorothea, daugh-
ter of Isham Randolph, of Dungeness, and sister of Presi-
dent Jefferson's mother ; he was the ancestor of John J.
Crittenden's third wife. Samuel Hugh Woodson repre-
sented Jessamine county in the Kentucky Legislature in
1819-25, and from 1820 to 1823 was a representative in
Congress. His wife was a daughter of Colonel David
Meade, an elder brother of Colonel Richard Kidder Meade,
of the Revolution, and uncle of Bishop Meade, who gives
an interesting account of that family in his " History of
Old ( 'hurches and Families." David Meade Woodson was
the Whig representative from Jessamine county, in 1833,
while his brother, Tucker, represented the county and the
senatorial district a number of years — more frequently, in-
deed, than any other one man. David Meade Woodson
and Lucy McDowell were married in October, 1831 ; she
died in August, 1836, in Fayette county, leaving an only
son, John McDowell Woodson, born June 5, 1834. In the
latter year, David M. Woodson removed to Carrollton,
Greene county, Illinois. There he filled many prominent
positions: state's attorney, probate judge, member of the
legislature, member of the convention that framed a con-
44 Historic Families of Kentucky,
stitution for the state in 1847, and for almost twenty years
judge of the circuit court. In 1840, Judge Woodson was
the Whig opponent of Stephen A. Douglas for Congress,
and. after one of the most noted and heated contests that
had ever taken place in the state, in which he successfully
held his own with the " Little Giant," was defeated by
only a few votes. He died in 1877, in his seventy-first
year, full of honors and universally esteemed. His son,
John McDowell Woodson, graduated at Center College, in
the class of 1853, and, after success as a civil engineer,
graduated at the Law School of Harvard, and, in 1857,
was admitted to the bar. In the legal profession his suc-
cess has met the full measure of his ambition. In 1860 he
was elected a member of the convention that framed a
new constitution for Illinois. In 1865 he was elected
mayor of Carlinville, to which place he had removed. In
1866 he was elected to the State Senate, and served in that
body with ability for four years. He then removed to St.
Louis, where he now resides, and where he at once entered
upon a lucrative practice, chiefly as attorney for railroads
and counsel for other corporations. Reaping abundant re-
ward for his industrious labors, his rapid success enabled
him to withdraw from the general practice when his fail-
ing health required rest and ease. Mr. Woodson has been
twice married, and has issue.
The limits prescribed for this sketch compels an omis-
sion of many other descendants of Major John McDowell,
who are as numerous as they are eminently respectable.
Colonel James McDowell, of Fayette.
James, the second son of Judge Samuel McDowell and
Mary McClung, w r as born in what is now Rockbridge
county, Virginia, in 1760. Enlisting as a private soldier
in the Continental army at the age of sixteen, he con-
tinued in active service until victory had been won at
Yorktown. From the strife he emerged an ensign. At
the age of nineteen, while at home on a brief furlough, he
married Mary Paxton Lyle, her father, Captain John Lyle,
being about to remove to North Carolina, and the young
The McDowells. 45
soldier desiring his sweetheart to remain as his wife with
his own parents in Virginia. The day after the bridal, he
hurried back to his post in the army. The Lyles were of
a Scotch-Irish family which had settled in the Grant con-
temporaneously with the McClungs, Paxtons, and Alex-
anders, to whom they were allied by blood and frequent
intermarriages. The names of Lyle, Lisle, Lyell, are iden-
tical; those who bear them spring remotely from the same
stock. Their common origin is in the name of de l'Isle —
"of the Island" — which indicates that in the ages wrap-
ped in clouds the common ancestor was one of the lords of
the Western Islands. In Scotland still the names are
found among the higher gentry. In the Valley the name
has been one of the highest repute for a century and a
half, borne, as it has been, by soldiers, ministers, teachers,
and worthy men in the other professions. The wife of
Captain John Lyle — mother of the wife of dames Mc-
Dowell — was Isabella Paxton. She was the daughter of
John Paxton and Martha Blair — both splendid types of
the Scotch-Irish. For Martha Blair, a descent is asserted
from Rev. Robert Blair, a learned professor in the Univer-
sity of Glasgow, who abandoned his place rather than ac-
quiesce in the introduction of prelacy by Dr. Cameron ;
and then accepted the invitation of Lord James Hamilton,
of Claneboy, to the pulpit of the congregation of Bangor,
in county Down, where he settled, in 1623. *The brothers
and sisters of Isabella Paxton married, respectively, with
Alexanders, Stuarts, Barclays, McClungs, Houstons, Ca-
ruthers, Cowans — all honored names. James McDowell
removed with his wife to Kentucky, in 1783. Locating in
Fayette county, they made their home about three miles
from Lexington, on the Georgetown road, the large body
of rich land midst whose beautiful groves they settled
probably being a part of the tract patented to Judge Sam-
uel McDowell for his services in the French and Indian
war. The comfortable house of hewed logs, erected for
their temporary accommodation, after the lapse of a cen-
tury is still standing. It soon gave place to a commo-
dious dwelling, with thick walls and large rooms, the
46 Historic Families of Kentucky.
bricks for which wore burned upon the spot, while the
woodwork within was carved from the magnificent black
walnut trees that shaded the luxuriant blue grass of the
land. Alas! the black walnut doors, the hand-carved
mantels and cornices, the elegant wainscoting, have been
covered with white paint, or torn away, to suit tastes that
are not more aesthetic because so different. The vocation
of James McDowell was that of a farmer, finding in fiocks
and herds, the waving grain and blue grass, pleasures con-
genial to his unobtrusive, nature. Helping to found the
state, and taking the keenest interest in public affairs, he
seems to have avoided the conspicuousness attaching to
place, and to have had an aversion to civil office of every
kind. Yet, from 1783 on, he had an active hand in all the
military measures for the defense of the settlers and the
district, and is said to have borne an honorable part in every
campaign against the Indians. As major of a battalion
in the expedition of General Wilkinson, in 1791, he re-
ceived the most complimentary mention for good con-
duct from that experienced soldier. The appointment by
Shelby, in 1792, as one of the first three majors of the
state, was not an empty honor, but, in the situation of the
infant Commonwealth, meant something in the line of his
tastes and capabilities. The War of 1812 found him be-
yond the age for military service, but with the blood of
old Ephraim coursing hotly through his veins — every sol-
dierly instinct alive, and active every patriotic impulse.
He had organized and commanded the first company of
light horse raised in Lexington. At the first call to
arms, with his sons, Samuel and John Lyle, the veteran
promptly volunteered. His company soon grew into a bat-
talion. While on the march to the front, the rank and
command of major were conferred upon him, and his men
were consolidated with those of Sinn-all, who was com-
missioned as colonel of the regiment. On more than one
bloody field in the North-west, he vindicated the reputa-
tion for courage and cool daring so long associated with
the name of McDowell. By order of General Harrison,
the regiment was detached from the main army on the ex-
The McDowells. 47
pedition to attack and destroy tlie Indian towns, crops,
and stock upon the Mississinewa. Besides the Kentuck-
ians and others, there went along, at the head of his gal-
lant "Pittsburg Blues," the heroic Captain .lames Butler,
son of General Richard Butler, who fell at the disaster
that clouds the name of St. Clair, and first cousin to the
brave soldiers of the name at Carrollton ; leading his reg-
ular dragoons, there rode Major James A". Ball, the chival-
rous Virginian, who married a granddaughter of General
Andrew L<>wis, and who made the charge which won at
Lundy's Lane. The whole force was under the command
of Colonel John B. Campbell, of the iSTineteenth Regulars —
a chip from the tree that had grown in the Valley and
branched into Tennessee and Kentucky. Leaving Dayton
on the 14th of December, 1812, with instructions to avoid
the Delaware towns, and to spare the family of Little
Turtle, w r ho had remained faithful to treaties, the objects
of the expedition were accomplished in a manner to ex-
tort the commendation of General Harrison. The mis-
sion was one of destruction. The march was over ground
covered with deep snow. The rigors of the winter's air
were terrible. The first two days, the march was forty
miles; the next day and night, another forty. On the
morning of the 17th, a town of the Miamis was surprised,
its defenders killed or captured, the town, stores, and crops
burned, and the stock shot. During the day, Ball's dra-
goons and Simrall's light horse advanced further down the
Mississinewa, burned three large Miami towns and many
cornfields, and killed many cattle; then returned to the
first town attacked, and there encamped; the devastation
had been complete.
The camp had been laid oft during the absence of Ball's
and Simrall's commands to the lower towns. Ball occu-
pied the right and one-half of the rear line; Simrall the
left and other half of the rear line. Between Ball's right
and Simrall's left there was an interval that had not been
filled up. Like a trained soldier, Major McDowell required
his men to cut down the branches from the trees, near
their bases, and to place them around their part of the
48 Histur'n- Families of Kentucky.
camp as a sort of abatis, or chevaux-de-frise. Campbell had
now to decide whether lie would push on with mm fatigued
and frostbitten, and horses suffering for want of forage,
incumbered with prisoners, or return. At four o'clock
on the morning of the 18th, the reveille was beaten, and
the officers met in council at the colonel's camp-fire. Half
an hour before the dawn the hideous yell of a large body
of savages announced their furious and desperate night
attack, and broke up the council. In a few seconds the
attack became general from the entrance of the right to
the left of Ball's squadron. The audacious Indians boldly
advanced to within a few feet of the lines, resolved, with
headlong courage, to rush in. The strongest and most
formidable demonstration was made at the gap between
Ball's squadron and Simrall's regiment. For half an hour
the battle raged, the heavy fire was incessant, the savage
yells swelling in triumphant expectation. The Indians
pressed on. The redoubt first attacked was captured and
held by the Indians; Captain Pierce, of Ohio, who had
commanded it, was shot twice through the body, toma-
hawked and scalped. During the din the voice of Major
McDowell, which had gained him the name of" Old Thun-
der,*' could every- where be heard cheering his men. When
Major Ball, hard pressed, requested relief, and none could
be had except from the infantry posted elsewhere, it was
he who had seen that the spies and guides under Patterson
Bain were unemployed, and who rode with Campbell and
ordered them to the succor of Ball. He was with Captain
Smith, of his own battalion, when his redoubt was so
handsomely held, though abandoned by half his guards,
encouraging the men by his example. Summoned from
the opposite side of the camp to the aid of Ball, " Captain
Butler, in the most gallant manner, and highly worthy of
the name he bears, formed his men immediately, and in ex-
cellent order, and marched them to the point to which he
was ordered. The alacrity with which they formed and,
moved was never excelled by any troops on earth." — [Col-
onel Campbell's Report.'] " The Blues were scarcely at the
post assigned them, before I discovered the effects they
The McDowells. 49
produced." — \Ibid.~\ At last the welcome daylight broke,
and loud over all the voice of McDowell was heard order-
ing his men to mount. Soon Campbell gave the word to
charge to Captain Trotter's company, and with McDowell
at their head, "they tilted off at full gallop. Major Mc-
Dowell', with a small party, rushed into the midst of the
enemy and exposed himself very much. I can not say too
much for this gallant veteran." — \_Campbell.~] Through the
Indian line the brave McDowell led the Kentuckians — over
them, breaking them — then formed at their rear, and, saber
in hand, charged back again. " The cavalry returned, and
informed me the enemy had tied precipitately." — [Camp-
bell.] The battle had been fought, the day was won. In
his general orders and report the gallant conduct of Major
McDowell received the most complimentary mention by
Harrison ; but the enthusiasm of the men who witnessed
his fearless and intrepid bearing was unrestrained in its ex-
pression. In the charge his horse was killed under him ; and,
as an Indian was in the act of shooting the major himself,
the savage fell dead from a timely shot tired by the major's
oldest son, Samuel McDowell, who was a sergeant in
George Trotter's company. The triumphant issue of these
minor battles is never without important result in such
warfare, and with such a foe. Tecumseh, at the head of
1,200 of his best warriors, was known to have been at the
time in the Mississinewa country; the force engaged in the
battle, commanded by a nephew of Little Turtle, a distin-
guished brave called "Little Thunder," was somewhat
less. For the numbers engaged, the loss on both sides was
heavy.
Abram Irvine McDowell, a nephew of Major James, and
father of General Irvine McDowell, was also in this battle.
In regular course Major McDowell was advanced to a col-
onelcy, and held that rank at the conclusion of the war.
Removing from Fayette to Mason, the last years of Colo-
nel McDowell were passed in the latter county, on a farm
near Millwood, the commodious residence still standing.
Refusing all office except when its acceptance in the mili-
4
50 Historic Families of Kentucky.
tary service involved the risk of his own life in defense of
his country, the natural soldier of his family. Colonel Mc-
Dowell lived to a good old age, surrounded by the abun-
dance he bad inherited and earned, respected for his intelli-
gence and unspotted probity, and, when the end came,
died calmly as he bad lived uprightly, transmitting to his
numerous posterity the heritage of an honorable name.
Over six feet in height, his person was at once strong,
handsome and graceful; a high forehead surmounting
large, sparkling black eyes, bis countenance beamed with
high spirit and infinite good humor; wanting in the habit-
ual sternness which was characteristic of his McDowell
kindred, and }^et capable, on occasion, of fierce, white-
heated, and deadly wrath ; a gallant gentleman of the olden
school, he united the courtesy and bonhomme of the Cavalier
to the inflexible adherence to principle that marked the
Roundhead. His descendants were worthy offshoots of
the McDowell stock. The writer has frequently beard
from his mother, who knew them well and intimately, that
the daughters of Colonel James McDowell were all not
only women of intellect and culture, but were, of their
generation, the most graceful and beautiful women of Ken-
tucky. Of these, the elder, 1, Isabella, married
Dr. John Poage Campbell,
a man of science, a scholarly theologian, and, in many
ways, one of the most remarkable men this country has
ever produced. His father, Robert Campbell, was a native
of Scotland, and, it is believed [Sprague's Annals'], was of
the Campbells of Kirnan, who were cadets of the bouse of
Argyle, and from whence sprung the illustrious poet. It
is ascertained, from the concurring records of several fami-
lies, that the mother of Robert Campbell, Elizabeth
Walker, w T as born in Scotland, in 1703, and was the oldest
of the seven children of John Walker, of Wigtown,
Scotland. The mother of this John Walker was Cath-
erine Rutherford, daughter of John Rutherford, of
an ancient and honorable family in Teviotdale, cele-
brated in story and ballad as bard fighting, adventur-
The McDowells. 51
ous soldiers. One account represents this John Ruth-
erford to have been the son, another asserts that he was
either the nephew or the full first cousin, of Rev. Sam-
uel Rutherford, the able and learned author of " Ruther-
ford's Letters," one of the seven delegates from Scotland
to the noted Westminster Assembly, and one of the very
foremost, ablest and bravest of the leaders of the Scotch
Presbyterian Church. — \_Sprague , s Annals.'] The two were
certainly of the same blood and very nearly related. What-
ever the degree of kindred, the connexion could add
nothing of honor to the characters or reputations of the
gifted, brave, pious descendants of John Rutherford in
America. The wife of John Rutherford was a descendant
of Rev. Joseph Alliene, the distinguished author of "All-
iene's Alarm." John Walker went from Wigtown to Ire-
land, and there married ; all of his children were born in
Ireland save Elizabeth, the mother of Robert Campbell.
From Ireland he emigrated to Pennsylvania, whither all of
his children also came; aud from that colony they all, or
nearly all, drifted to the Valley of Virginia, settling on
Walker's creek, in Rockbridge county. The sons of John
Walker, of Wigtown, were John, James, Samuel, Alexan-
der and Joseph, who gave their name to the creek on
which they settled, where their descendants became so nu-
merous that they were sometimes pleasantly called the
" Creek Nation."
Besides Elizabeth — the mother of Robert Campbell —
John Walker, of Wigtown, had also a daughter, Jane,
who married, in Pennsylvania, an Irishman named James
Moore, who, with his brother, Joseph Moore, had emi-
grated to that colony about the year 1726, from whence
they removed to the Valley- Rachel, the oldest daughter
of James Moore and Jane Walker, married William Mc-
Pheeters, also born in Pennsylvania, the son of a Scotch-
Irishman, also named William McPheeters, who was said
to have been descended from a Scotch highlander named
Peter Hume. William McPheeters and Rachel Moore had
ten children, one of whom was Rev. William McPheeters, the
able theologian and eloquent preacher, whose first wife was
52 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Elizabeth, daughter of Major John McDowell; by a third
wife Rev. Win. McPheeters was the father of Rev. Dr.
Samuel Drown McPheeters, the able, brave and beloved
pastor of the Piue Street Presbyterian Church of St. Louis.
Rebecca, a daughter of Win. McPheeters and Rachel
Moore, married Captain John Gamble, a brother of Colo-
nel Robert Gamble, and had by him eleven children, of
whom one was the able Presbyterian divine, Rev. James
Gamble, of South Carolina and Georgia. Another daugh-
ter, Rachel McPheeters, married John Logan, of Rock-
bridge county, and was the ancestress of a number of able
preachers. Elizabeth, the youngest child of William Mc-
Pheeters and Rachel Moore, married William Campbell, a
son of Captain Charles Campbell, of Rockbridge. This
Captain Charles Campbell was a cousin of Robert Camp-
bell, and his wife was Mary Anne Downey, whose mother
was a sister of William McPheeters, the husband of Rachel
Moore.
Mary Moore, the second child of James Moore and Jane
Walker, first married one of the chivalrous Paxtons, by
whom Samuel Paxton was her son. Secondly, she mar-
ried, as his second wife, Alexander Stuart, the major of
Colonel Samuel McDowell's regiment, who was captured
at Guilford. By Major Stuart she was the mother of four
children, one of whom was Alexander Stuart, a distin-
guished judge of the Superior Court of Virginia, Judge
Alexander Stuart, of Tat rick, an able lawyer and an elo-
quent orator, and a distinguished soldier in the War of
1812; and Aewas the father of General James Ewell Brown
Stuart, the Murat of the Southern Confederacy, the idol
of Virginia, a major-general at twenty-nine, who died on
the field of battle, as gloriously as he had lived honorably.
Elizabeth, the third daughter of James Moore and Jane
Walker, married Michael Coalter. One of her grand-
daughters married William C. Preston, of South Carolina
— scholar, orator and statesman ; and a sister of Mrs. Pres-
ton married the able Judge Earper, of the same state. Her
son, John Coalter, was judge of the Superior Court of
Virginia, and afterwards of the Court of Appeals; his
The McDowells. 53
third wife was a daughter of Judge St. George Tucker, and
half sister of John Randolph, of Roanoke. The eighth
child of Michael Coalter and Elizabeth Moore, named
Mary, was the first wife of Beverley Tucker, youngest son
of Judge St. George Tucker, and half brother of John
Randolph.
James, one of the sons of James Moore and Jane Walker,
married, in Rockbridge, Martha Poage, a member of a nu-
merous and respectable family in the Valley, one of whom
was the first wife of Colonel Robert Breckinridge, while
others found their way to Kentucky, where they earned
distinction as men of valor. On Walker's creek, among
his mother's kindred, James Moore lived, and there were
born his sons, John, James and Joseph. About the year
1775, he removed to Abb's Valley, in what is now Taze-
well county — a delightful tract of extraordinary fertility,
ten miles long, and about an eighth of a mile wide, with
no stream running through it, and surrounded by the lofty
peaks of the Clinch and New River mountains. Here, in
1784, his son, James, was captured by Black Wolf, a noted
Shawanese chief, and carried into captivity among the Ohio
Indians. Here, in 1786, James Moore himself, his sons,
John, William and Alexander, and his daughters, Rebecca
and Margaret, and an aged Englishman, named Simpson,
were murdered by a band of Cherokees ; and his wife, his
daughters,. Jane and Polly, and a seamstress, Martha
Ivins, were captured and carried off. Shortly afterward,
Mrs. Moore and Jane were tortured and burned to death
at the stake, the former bearing, without a murmur, the
agonies inflicted upon her, encouraging her daughters with
her conversation, and lifting up her voice in prayer to her
Redeemer. Thus was the whole family cut off by one fell
blow, excepting the captives, James and Polly, and Joseph,
who was at school in Rockbridge. Five years from the
time James was captured, and three, years from the time
that Polly, then only eight years old, witnessed the torture
of her mother, after incredible sufferings, they were re-
stored to their kindred in Rockbridge. James Moore mar-
ried and lived to a great age in Rockbridge. Polly, upon
54 Historic Families of Kentucky.
her return, lived at first with the family other uncle, Wm.
MePheeters, who then resided about ten miles southward
from Staunton, near the Middle river. Afterwards, she re-
sided with her uncle, Joseph Walker, who had married her
aunt, Jane Moore, his cousin, on Buffalo creek, about six
miles from Lexington, Virginia. She had taken with her,
from Abb's Valley, two New Testaments, which she kept
throughout all her captivity. At the age of twelve years
she was received into the communion of the Presbyterian
Church. When she grew up she married Rev. Samuel
Brown, a distinguished Presbyterian divine, and the loved
pastor of the Xew Providence Church. Of her eleven
children, five of her sons were able and devout Presbyte-
rian ministers, another a ruling elder, and a sixth a com-
municant ; one of her daughters married a Presbyterian
minister, and another a pious physician. One of her sons
was Rev. James M. Brown, so long the occupant of the
pulpit in Charleston, on the Kanawha. It was the latter
excellent man who adopted and befriended the singularly
gifted Irish lad who became the eloquent Dr. Stuart Rob-
inson — a robust leader of men, and aggressive soldier of
the Cross.
Jane, eighth child of James Moore and Jane Walker,
married her relative, Joseph Walker. Her daughter, Mar-
garet, married Rev. Samuel Houston. One of her sons
was Rev. Samuel Rutherford Houston, the zealous and
faithful missionary to Greece. It is singular how the best
fighting qualities go with the most brilliant pulpit abili-
ties, when the stock is Calvinistic.
The Campbell of Kirnan who married Elizabeth, oldest
child of John Walker and Catherine Rutherford, had, by
her, eight children. Of these, three certainly came to Au-
gusta county, Robert, John Walker and Jane. The lat-
ter married Alexander MePheeters, a relative of William
MePheeters, who married her kinswoman, Rachel Moore.
Her son, Robert MePheeters, was a ruling elder and worthy
citizen of Augusta. Major John Walker Campbell mar-
ried, but had no children. Their cousin, Captain Charles
Campbell, who married Mary Anne Downey (her mother
The McDowells. 55
was Martha McPheeters), was the father of Dr. Campbell,
of Lexington, Virginia; of John W. Campbell, of Peters-
burg; and of William Campbell, who married Elizabeth
McPheeters, his relative, and sister of Rev. Wm. McPhee-
ters. The precise date of the arrival in Augusta county
of Robert Campbell with his brother and sister, can not be
stated; but at some time prior to 1744, as the records
show [Peytori], lie purchased 350 acres of land from the
patentees of the Beverly Manor, and on this tract he built
his home ; afterwards he sold, to trustees appointed for the
purpose, "the glebe lands," as the lands set aside for the
support of the Episcopal Church were called. By Gov-
ernor Gooch he was appointed one of the early magis-
trates of Augusta. All that is known of him demonstrates
him to have been not only a religious, but also an intelli-
gent and educated man, highly esteemed in the peculiar
community among whom he east his lot, exercising a sal-
utary influence in all matters for the advancement of re-
ligion and education, and active in providing for the com-
mon defense. "When an elderly man, before the beginning
of the present century, Robert Campbell removed to Ken-
tucky, locating, at first, in Fayette county, near Lexing-
ton ; afterwards, becoming associated with General Thomas
Bodley, General Robert Poage, and Hughes, in the pur-
chase of ten thousand acres of rich cane land in the
Mayslick neighborhood, he removed to Mason county,
there made his final settlement, and there he died. Rob-
ert Campbell was already of middle age when, in the fam-
ily of a fellow-countryman and co-religionist, in Augusta
county, he met with and married his friend's daughter, Re-
becca Wallace — of a Scotch Presbyterian family which had
early settled in the Valley, and has since spread itself over
the South and West, every-where esteemed for the virtue
and intelligence of its • members, prominent in all social
circles, and frecpiently found in high official place. In Au-
gusta county, in 1767, the fruit of this union, John Poage
Campbell, was born; a man to whom was transmitted,
through the generations, the intellect, the eloquence, and
the high and combative spirit, with the religious tenets of
56 Historic Families of Kentucky.
his renowned ancestor, and whose attainments were even
more varied, Liberal and elegant. The easy circumstances
of his uncle. Major John ~W\ Campbell, who had adopted
him, gave him the advantages of the very best schools in
Virginia: after thorough training in the academies, he
graduated, in 1700, at Hampden Sidney; then studied
medicine with his kinsman, Dr. David Campbell, a native
of Virginia, but a graduate of the University of Edin-
burg, whose inaugural thesis, dedicated to Theodoric
Bland and Robert Mumford — both earnest patriots of the
Revolution — printed at Edinburg, in 1777, and couched in
the purest and most elegant latinity, attests the perfection
to which elassieal scholarship was carried at that day. The
skepticism of his youth having been corrected and dis-
pelled, he became a student of theology under Drs. Gra-
ham and Hoge, Dr. Archibald Alexander being a fellow-
student; completing the course, in 1702 he became asso-
ciated with Dr. Hoge, as co-pastor of the Presbyterian
Church at Lexington, Virginia, and, in 1703, was elected
one of the trustees of Liberty Hall, now the Washington-
Lee University, serving until 1705, and being present at
eighteen meetings out of twenty. — [Hixson.] In the lat-
ter year removing to Kentucky, where all religion seemed
imperilled by a so-called "free thinking" infidelity, which
developed its pernicious ultimate results in the horrors of
the French Revolution, and distinguished that social con-
vulsion from the struggles for religious and political lib-
erty in England and America — "in defense of his imper-
illed faith, he at once plunged into a controversial career."
" The land jobbing, litigation, religious skepticism and ec-
clesiastical dissension, and the chronic political turbulence
and intrigue under the leadership of military adventurers,
commercial speculators, and unscrupulous politicians that
then afflicted this newly-erected state — engendering a sort
of Jacobinism in religion, politics and social life" — needed
to be confronted by a spirit as bold, an intellect as acute,
a learning as broad and accurate, and an eloquence as fer-
vid as that possessed by the young Calvinist. From his
first charge at Smyrna, in Fleming county, his fame rap-
The IfcDoivells. 57
idly spread ; soon every Presbyterian pulpit in Central
Kentucky knew him as the most daring, resolute, inflex-
ible, and as one of the most eloquent of the soldiers of the
Cross. A thorough scholar, not only in the classics and
in modern languages but also in the natural and exact
sciences, and with a literary style in composition at once
chaste and elegant, as a pulpit orator Dr. Campbell has
never had a superior, and but few. if any, equals in the
West. With a fervid eloquence that swept all before it,
as a theologian he was at once learned, profound and crit-
ical ; as a logician and controversialist he was the most
dangerous, as he came to be one of the most dreaded, of
opponents. Said Dr. E. P. Humphrey of him: "As a
preacher he was distinguished for weight of matter, brill-
iant diction, the flashing of a deep-set, dark-blue eye, ele-
gance of style, and gracefulness of delivery." Old Dr.
Louis Marshall, himself one of the most accurate scholars
and first thinkers of the country, regarded him as the
greatest intellect and most wonderful orator he had ever
met; he united with the church under Dr. Campbell's ad-
ministration, and named a son after him. Drs. Timothy
Dwight and Archibald Alexander, the elder John Breck-
inridge, and other public men of like standing, his con-
temporaries, admirers and friends, placed an equally high
and just estimate upon him. It is worthy of note, as in-
dicating the order of his well-poised mind and his undevi-
ating adherence to his own convictions, that while, in 1806,
over the signature of Vindex, he most ably '•'vindicated the
principles and practices of his fellow-churchmen against
the rash and harsh charges of a clerical antagonist, who
had passed the most bitter and sweeping censure upon
"the private and religious character of all who held
slaves," Dr. Campbell was one of the first clergymen in
Kentucky to urge the policy of legal and constitutional
emancipation, and, consistently with his utterances, to set
an example in the philanthropic work, by the liberation
of his own slaves." His convictions upon this subject
finally led to his removal to Ohio. Prof. Tyndall, in his
remarkable address to the " British Association for the Ad-
58 Historic Families of J\< ntucky.
vancement of Science," in 1874, says that Sir Benjamin
Brodie, the distinguished English physician, first drew his
attention to the fact that, "as early as 1794, Charles Dar-
win's grandfather was the pioneer of Charles Darwin;"
and the Xcw York Nation, shortly afterward, spoke of
"the perhaps over ingenious connection of Darwinism
with the philosophy of Democritus." " ISTow, all concede
that the germs of the Darwinian theory were derived, by
the elder Darwin, from the writings of the early philoso-
phers, including the writings of Democritus, a learned
physician. Notwithstanding the notable variation by des-
cent the doctrine has undergone, its germinal idea is un-
doubtedly traceable, through the elder Darwin, to a re-
mote classical source. A striking illustration of the thor-
oughness, the accuracy, and the high quality of Dr. Camp-
hell's scholarship is the fact, that, as early as 1812, in his
criticisms upon the theories of the elder Darwin, as devel-
oped in his Zoonomia and the Botanic Garden, he anticipated
Sir Benjamin Brodie and Prof. Tyndall, of our own day,
in the detection of the germinal ideas from which the Dar-
winian theory of evolution is derived. Said Dr. Camp-
bell, in his "Letters to a Gentleman at the Bar'' — the
celebrated Joseph Hamilton Daviess : " It had been thought
that a vast accession of light had Hashed upon the world
when the author (Dr. Erasmus Darwin) published his cele-
brated work. It was hailed as a new era in philoso-
phy. . . . But, . . . the philosophy was not new;
the design of the poetic exhibition was not new, nor did
the manner of the author possess a shadow of a claim to
novelty. The doctrines had long ago been taught by Pro-
tagoras, Strato, Democritus, and Leucippus. Epicurus had
improved on the Democritic philosophy, and his admirer
and disciple, Lucretius, had touched its various themes in
a fine style of poetic representation. All that Dr. Darwin
did, was to modernize the doctrines of the atomic philoso-
phy, and embellish them with the late discoveries made in
botany, chemistry and physics. . . . Our philoso-
pher . . . tells ns that the progenitors of mankind
were hermaphrodites, monsters, or mules, and that the
The McDowells. 59
mules which did not possess the powers of reproduction
perished, while the rest, who were more fortunate in their
make, propagated the species which, by gradual and long-
continued amelioration has been molded into its present
shape and figure." Dr. Campbell here quotes a passage
from the 5th book of Lucretius, in which the same doc-
trine is taught, and another from Aristotle, to prove that
the same hypothesis is traceable to Empedocles, who flour-
ished at a still earlier date. In brief, he conclusively
demonstrates that the idea of the struggle for existence,
and of the survival of those species best fitted for the con-
ditions of that struggle, " was familiar to ancient think-
ers/' Since the appearance of that epochal work, " The
Origin of Species," later investigators, unconsciously adopt-
ing the conclusions of Dr. Campbell, have re-discovered
the vague, fluctuating and elusive line of descent upon
which the Darwinian theory was slowly evolved.* The
acute theologian and ripe scholar did not exaggerate the
dangers which threatened Christianity. The younger
Darwin, himself, in adopting his undemonstrated theory,
rejected his previous belief in all revealed religion. His
doctrine of evolution strikes at the very foundation of the
faith. Than Dr. Campbell no abler antagonist to this de-
structive idea has since entered the lists. His active in-
vestigation in the field of arclmeological inquiry, even be-
fore the time of Rafinesque, illustrated the versatility of
his genius, and the variety of subjects of which he was the
accomplished master. His labors were concluded at Chilli-
cothe, in 1814, at the age of forty-six years. While ac-
tively engaged in the practice of medicine, and in botani-
cal and antiquarian research, and at the same time preach-
ing with his usual impressiveness, vigor and eloquence, he
caught a severe cold, which soon terminated his life. " In
person he was tall, slender and graceful; his countenance
was composed, thoughtful and grave; his complexion
clear and pale ; his carriage manly and erect ; " his temper
• Vide, sketch of Dr. Campbell in the History of Mason County.
60 Historic Families of Kentucky.
hold: of unyielding firmness ; his predominant character-
istic, manliness. His wife was a tit helpmeet for such a
man; a woman of cultivated intellect and ran- personal
graces, great energy, sound judgment and ready tact. She
survived him, residing with her family at Lexington until
her death in 1838. Her son, Dr. James McDowell ('amp-
bell, horn in 1804, received his academical education at
Transylvania University, his medical education at one of
the Cincinnati schools. He practiced medicine at Burling-
ton, Iowa, where he died in 1837. Her son, Dr. John C.
Campbell, horn in 1812. received his academical education
at the Miami University, then under the presidency of Dr.
Bishop, and graduated in medicine at the medical school
of St. Louis, now the medical department of the State
University. He is now a prominent and wealthy citizen
of Nebraska City, Nebraska. In the years 1855, '7, '9, '61
and '62, he was a member of the Territorial Legislature of
Nebraska, two years of the time in the senate. In 1871
he was a member of the convention called to frame a new
constitution for the State of Nebraska. His daughter,
Henrietta Campbell, married, at Nebraska City, in 1887,
Mr. George Sumner Baskerville — a familiar name in old
Virginia. He is a son of Colonel William Baskerville, a
distinguished lawyer of Mecklenburg, who represented
the south-east district of Virginia in the state senate before
the war, during which he was a member of the Confeder-
ate Congress. The son entered Hampden Sidney, in which
he took a four years' course; he then spent two years at
Yale Divinity School, and graduated at the Theological
Seminary, at Hartford, Connecticut, in 1882. Margaret
Madison Campbell, daughter of Dr. John Poage Camp-
bell and Isabella McDowell, was the sensible, culti-
vated, most interesting, amiable wife of Thomas J.
Pickett, of Mason county; a man of the most honor-
ahle character, of the most scrupulous and inexor-
able integrity, a shrewd judge of men, of acute and broad
intellect; a gentleman of rare taste and varied culture. A
most worthy and faithful representative of his county in
The McDowells. 61
the state legislature, his voluntary withdrawal from all
public life deprived the state of one of its best minds.
His sterling worth and generous nature were made con-
spicuous in vicissitudes before which a manliness less ro-
bust and true would have succumbed. Mr. Pickett was
one of the sous of Colonel John Pickett, an early settler
in Mason county, which he acceptably represented in both
branches of the state legislature. Colonel James C. Pick-
ett, the elder brother of Thomas J., was distinguished as a
legislator, as a diplomatist, and as a man of letters. Will-
iam, the father of Colonel John Pickett, a native of Fau-
quier county, was a Revolutionary soldier, a valued cap-
tain in the regiment commanded by Colonel Thomas Mar-
shall, and a member of the Burgesses. The mother of
Colonel John Pickett was a Metcalfe, of the same blood
as that of the " Old Stone Hammer," governor of Ken-
tucky. The first wife of Governor Metcalfe's father was
also a Pickett. The family were of Fauquier — "the
fighting Picketts," they are called in Virginia and South
Carolina — as noted for their graceful wit in the social cir-
cle, as they have been distinguished for gallantry in the
held. Campbell, Pickett and Metcalfe were good shoots to
graft upon the McDowell stock. The only son of Mr. and
Mrs. Thos. J. Pickett, is Dr. Thomas E. Pickett, of Mays-
ville, a graduate of Center College and of the University
of Pennsylvania.
2.- Sallie, the second daughter of Colonel James Mc-
Dowell, married Oliver Keene, of Fayette county; her son,
Oliver Keene, Jr., married a daughter of the late Sidney
Clay, of Bourbon county, and granddaughter of General
Green Clay, of Madison, and his daughter is the wife of
Colonel Shackleford, of Richmond. One of Sallie Keene's
daughters married Dr. Churchill J. Blackburn, a prosper-
ous physician and farmer of Scott county; another daugh-
ter married a Boswell, and removed with her family to
Philadelphia. The wife of Mr. Riggs, the Washington
banker, an accomplished and beautiful woman, was her
daughter.
62 Historic Families of Kentucky.
3. Samuel, the colonel's oldest son, who was sergeant
in Captain Trotter's company, and shot the Indian at Mis-
sissinewa, married Polly Chrisman, of Jessamine. She
was a daughter of Joseph Chrisman, Sr., of Jessamine
county, whose mother was a sister of Colonel Joe and
General Charles McDowell, of North Carolina, and who
was himself a brother of Hugh Chrisman, whose daugh-
ter, Betsey, married Major John McDowell's son, Samuel.
William McDowell, son of Samuel and Polly Chrisman, is
a farmer in Jessamine. One of the daughters of Samuel
McDowell and Polly Chrisman, Sarah, married William
Steele, and was the mother of John Steele, a substantial
farmer of Jessamine, and of William L. Steele, a success-
ful merchant of Nicholasville, where his good sense and
high moral character have won for him respect, esteem,
and confidence, and who is recognized as possessing the
cool, deliberate courage which has been for centuries the
McDowell characteristic.
4. Juliet, the third daughter of Colonel McDowell, mar-
ried Dr. Dorsey, an early physician in Fleming county.
She left two daughters, one of whom was the sensible, ju-
dicious, excellent Christian woman who became the wife of
Hon. L. W. Andrews, whose father, Robert Andrews, was a
native of Pennsylvania, of Irish' descent. Mr. Andrews
himself was born in Fleming county in 1803; educated in
the neighboring schools and at Transylvania University;
studied law under Judge Roper, and was licensed in 1826.
As soon as eligible, he was appointed county attorney of
Fleming ; then made a gallant and successful race for the
legislature in 1884, and was re-elected in 1838. In 1839,
he was elected representative in Congress, after a brilliant
and heated race, in which, as the Whig candidate, he de-
feated John C. Mason. In 1841, he was re-elected, and
served until 1843; then, having surrendered all his estate,
the accumulations of an honorable industry, to discharge
obligations incurred for others, he declined a re-election in
order to devote himself to his profession. In this he was
shrewd, discriminating, industrious, and successful. In
The McDowells. . 63
1857, lie was elected to the state senate for four years, and
was one of those who saved Kentucky to the Union. In
1861, he was again chosen to represent Fleming in the
legislature, in which body his course was that of a con-
servative, firm, patriotic friend of the Union. He re-
signed, in 1862, to accept a nomination forjudge of the
eircuit court of his district, to discharge the duties of
which position, in the precarious situation of the state
and people, a man of sense, discretion, character, and de-
cision was required. For six years he held the office, and
left it amid the plaudits of a people who recognized his
worth. Of quick perceptions, a ready wit, easily adapt-
ing himself to the emergencies of the court-house, an
amusing, fluent, and most effective public speaker, of
marked individuality, and, over ami above all, incorrupti-
bly honest, and patriotic, and generous, whether at the
bar, in Congress, or upon the bench, Judge Andrews has
been distinguished. Fleming county has had no citizen
who has exercised a wider influence over her people. II is
daughter, Juliet, married William L. Sudduth, an estima-
ble citizen and graceful gentleman of Bath. Their son,
W. A. Sudduth, born in 1854, graduated at Center Col-
lege, in 1874, is at the head of the Fleming bar.
5. Hettie, fourth daughter of Colonel McDowell, mar-
ried John Andrews, brother of Judge L. W. Andrews.
Her daughters married brothers, Shepherds, and live in
Texas.
6. The second son of Colonel McDowell was Captain
John Lyle McDowell, a courageous soldier of the War of
1812, in which his father and brother fought. Volunteer-
ing as a mere youth, in 1813, he followed Shelby to the
front, participating in all the sanguinary engagements in
the North-west, in which Iventuckians, under their mar-
tial governor, won fame. and honor. He did well his part,
as became his lineage. As modest as he was brave, it was
his to lead a life of duty in a private station. He inher-
ited the farm in Fayette first owned by his father; selling
which to the husband of his daughter — Clifton Ross — he
<!4 Historic Families of Kentucky.
removed to a large (.'state owned by him, in Owen county,
on the Kentucky river. After an unstained and upright
life of eighty -four years, he died, in December, 1878, at
the residence of his son-in-law, Captain Samuel Steele, in
Frankfort. His wife, Nancy Vance, was a daughter of
Richard Scott, whose mother was a .Montgomery, a near
relative of General Richard .Montgomery, who fell at
Quebec. Through the Scotts, she was nearly related to
the late Judge Vm. S. Botts, of Fleming, and, through
the Montgomerys, to the Deshas. Captain Steele, who
married one of their daughters, was the son of William
Steele and Rebecca McClung — the latter a daughter of
John McClung and a sister of Judge William McClung;
John McClung was a brother of Mary, the wife of Judge
Samuel McDowell ; and thus, Captain Steele and his wife
were kinspeople. Captain John McDowell's sou, James, a
farmer, married Lizzie Green, lived long on the bank of
the Kentucky river, in Owen, and now resides in Missouri.
Alexander Boyd McDowell, a Confederate soldier in Mc-
Cullough's Missouri cavalry, was killed in battle at Col-
liersville, Mississippi ; his widow, Mrs. Fannie McDowell,
and only daughter, Mildred, live at Sedalia, Missouri.
Major Hebvey McDowell.
Another son of Captain John Lyle McDowell is Major
Hervey McDowell, of Cynthiana. With a large, wen-
formed head, a high, square forehead and prominent brow;
a very large, clear, pale blue eye that looks squarely at
you, and sometimes glitters like steel ; a full jaw and chin,
indicating the utmost resolution and force ;. an athletic per-
son — with the features that are peculiar to his race, Major
McDowell combines, to a remarkable degree, the family
traits. About his manner there is a quiel reserve: his ap-
pearance and hearing impress all who meet him as those
of a man absolutely impenetrable to fear, and as absolutely
incapable of falsehood or any kind of meanness. The sol-
diers who fought by his side in the Confederate army de-
BCribe his courage as heroic, his coolness and composure
The McDowells. 65
under the heaviest fire as phenomenal. These character-
istics were most amply tested. Graduating at the military
school near Frankfort, in 1856, and at the Medical College
of St. Louis, in 1858, he abandoned a large medical prac-
tice at Cynthiana, in 1861, to recruit a company for Roger
W. Hanson's Confederate Second Kentucky Infantry, in
which he was made a captain. With this regiment he re-
mained until the close of the war. Captured and badly
wounded in the head at Fort Donelson, he was a prisoner
for six months at Camp Chase and Johnson's Island. Ex-
changed at Yicksburg, in September, 1862, he returned at
once to his command and to the front. At Ilartsville, in
November, 1862, he was in the thickest of the fray. At
Murfreesboro, he was in the desperate charge of Breckin-
ridge's Division, in which Hanson fell, was shot through
both arms, and wounded in three other places. At Jack-
sou, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Dalton, Resaca, Dallas,
Kene'saw, Peach Tree Creek, in the intrenchments at Utay
Creek, in all the fights around Atlanta, at Joncsboro (where
he was again captured), in several battles in South Caro-
lina — one of them on the old battle ground of Camden;
wounded for the seventh time at Resaea, and six times
again in other battles; in Kentucky, Tennessee, Missis-
sippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina; in prison, in
camp, on the march, in the hottest fights of the bloody
war; in victory and in defeat; always uncomplaining,
calm, energetic and daring, he exhibited the best qualities
of a soldier. Promoted to the mayorship for gallantry on
the field at Chickamauga, and to the lieutenant-colonelcy
for meritorious conduct at Jonesboro, covering the Con-
federate retreat before Sherman's march to the sea — the
regiment having been mounted for the purpose — no man
in that service has a more honorable record. Returning
to Cynthiana after the cause of the Confederacy had gone
down forever, he resumed his practice of medicine, spent
several additional years in study and in practice in St. Louis,
returned to Cynthiana again in 1869, and has since been
as conspicuous for success and skill as a physician as he
5
(!(! Historic Families of Kentucky.
had been for good conduct as a soldier — the two callings
arms and medicine, in which so many of Lis name and
kindred have been distinguished. In St. Louis, in 1869,
he married Louise Irvine McDowell, daughter of Alexan-
der Marshall McDowell, a planter of Alabama and firsl
cousin to his own father. They have several children.
He is a Presbyterian elder, and has been active and useful
in the promotion of education.
7. The youngest child of Colonel James McDowell and
Mary Paxton Lyle was Dr. Ephraim McDowell, of Mason
county, a handsome, graceful gentleman and a successful
physician. His first wife was Ann, daughter of General
Robert Poage, who commanded a brigade in the war of
1812. General Robert Poage was a descendant of the
Robert Poage who "proved his importation'' at Orange
Court House in 1740, and whose daughter was the first wife
of Colonel Robert Breckinridge and mother of General
Robert Breckinridge of Kentucky. Dr. McDowell's sec-
ond wife Avas Lucretia C. Feemster. One of their sons is
Dr. Lucien McDowell, of Flemingsburg, who was first a
captain and then a surgeon in the Confederate army.
Dr. Ephraim McDowell's daughter Mary married Frank
Garrard, a grandson of the second Governor of Kentucky.
They live in Pendleton county. Dr. Ephraim McDowell
had another son, James, who was a Captain of a Missouri
company in the Confederate army. He died from the ef-
fects of wounds received while fighting at the front in the
battle of Springfield, Mo.
Judge William McDowell.
The third son of Judge Samuel McDowell and Mary
McClung, William, was born in Rockbridge, March 9,
1762. He also saw active service during the Revolution,
not in the Continental army, but as one of the Virginia
militia. The private letters of his father -show that he
was frequently in arms to protect the settlers in Kentucky.
To him tradition assigns the reputation of having been
the most thoroughly educated, most learned and accom-
The McDowells. 67
plished of all the sons of his father. His education was
obtained at the best schools in Virginia; of the oppor-
tunities they afforded, his honorable ambition spurred him
on to take full advantage. The lawyer of his family, in
that profession he was at once able, distinguished, and
successful. Coming with his father to Kentucky, in 1784,
and locating- at first near Danville — then the religious, edu-
cational, social, and political center of the district — he
immediately became not less prominent in public affairs
than he was at the bar. His name, with those of his
father, Judges Speed, Ormsby, Todd, Innes, Muter, and
Wallace; Governors Shelby, Scott, Garrard, and Greenup;
Willis Green, Humphrey Marshall, and others, is signed
to the paper calling a meeting to establish the " Kentucky
Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge," dated at
Danville, December 1, 1787. — \Collins.~\ At the session of
that same year, he acceptably represented Mercer county
in the Virginia Legislature. The first senator from Mer-
cer county — after serving from 1792 to 179b' he was re-
elected in 1800. and. two years thereafter, was chosen to
represent the same county in the house. Appointed by
Governor Shelby, in 1702, the first auditor of the state, he
was succeeded, in 1796, by George Madison, whose accom-
plished sister he had married. By the Virginia Legis-
lature of 1787, he was appointed one of the first trustees
of the town of Danville. — [ITenning.~] His high character,
united to his real ability and solid attainments, com-
mended him for appointment as United States District
Judge for Kentucky to President Madison, the cousin of
his wife. He held the office for years, with distinction to
himself, discharging its duties with such marked ability
and impartiality as to win respect from all, and with such
grace as made him popular and beloved. During his in-
cumbency of this office, he removed to Bowling Green,
where he died, full of honors, and after a life well spent.
Judge William McDowell married Margaretta Madison,
daughter of John Madison, a brother of the father of
President Madison. Her father was the son of Ambrose
Madison and Frances Taylor, the latter a member of the
68 Historic Families of Kentucky.
distinguished race from which came John Taylor, of Car-
oline, which gave to the United States a hero president of
that name, and from whom also the Pendletons, respecta-
ble as lawyers, judges, senators, congressmen, gentle-
men, and soldiers, are descended. General Samuel Hop-
kins, of Kentucky, also came from a union of this Taylor
and Pendleton blood with that of the substantial Welsh
people whose name he bore. The wife of John Madison and
mother of Margaretta was Agatha Strother, daughter of
William Strother, of Stafford county, and Margaretta
Watts. "Old Rough and Ready" came from a union
of this Strother blood with that of Dabney and Taylor.
The sisters of Agatha Strother married the able and
learned Thomas Lewis, the renowned Gabriel Jones, and
the gallant Captain John Frog. Mrs. Frog was the mother
of the hero of the same name. John Madison, the father of
Margaretta, was the first clerk of Augusta county, a
member of the first vestry formed within its limits, active
in setting on foot the exploring expeditions into Ken-
tucky, and one of the most prominent, useful, and influen-
tial men in Augusta during the Revolution. One of the
brothers of Margaretta was James Madison, the first
American-born bishop of the Episcopal Church of Vir-
ginia—able, learned, and accomplished. Another of her
brothers, General Richard Madison, married a daughter of
the first Colonel William Preston, of Virginia, and was
the progenitor of a large family extensively intermarried
with their Preston kinspeople — the Bowyers, Peytons,
Lewises, and others. Her brother, General Thomas Mad-
ison, married Susanna Henry, a sister of the great orator.
Margaretta's brother, Gabriel Madison, one of the early
pioneers of Kentucky, and who frequently held important
public positions in the district and state, married Miriam
Lewis; the Banks family, of Henderson, are his descend-
ants. Margaretta's brother, Roland, also one of the pio-
neers, married Anne, daughter of General Andrew Lewis;
his descendants live in Indiana and Maryland. Yet
another brother of Margaretta was the distinguished
Major George Madison, the hero governor of Kentucky,
The McDowells. 69
whose wife was a daughter of Major Francis Smith, of
the Revolution, and a granddaughter of the first John
Preston. Governor Madison's only daughter married Will-
iam Alexander, and was the mother of the wife of
General Frank Blair. Than with this Madison-Taylor-
Strother cross, the McDowells have made no better alli-
ance.
1. Judge William McDowell's son, Samuel I. McDowell,
represented Warren county in the legislature in 1823, '24,
as appears from the journal of that body, of which he
was an active and useful member. He married Miss
ISTancy Rochester, and left issue.
2. Judge William McDowell's daughter, Lucinda, a
beautiful and cultivated woman, with a character as el-
evated as her person was graceful and lovely, married
Dennis Brashear, a very handsome and well-educated
man, who died early in life, and of whom there is but
little record. Their daughter, Mary Eli/a Brashear, was
the second wife of Joseph Sullivant, of Columbus, Ohio, by
whom she was the mother of six children ; the oldest
daughter, Lucy Madison, is the wife of General .lames A.
Wilcox, of Columbus, a gallant soldier in the Federal
army; Pamela Sullivant, the second daughter, described
by those who know her best as a woman of rare intel-
lectual gifts, a brilliant conversationalist as veil of strong
individuality, and who is certainly a most charming writer,
is the wife of Robert Samuel jSTeil, a son of one of the ro-
bust and enterprising pioneers of Ohio, and the owner of
a large stock farm near Columbus. Lucas Sullivant, the
oldest son of Joseph Sullivant and Mary Eliza Brashear,
was a professor of anatomy in the Starling Medical Col-
lege, of Columbus, and died young. Lyne Starling, the
second son, entered the Federal army at the outbreak of
hostilities, and remained in it until the close of the war.
As lieutenant of ordinance, captain and major of the One
Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio Regiment, at Dallas, Chick-
amauga, Kenesaw, Peach Orchard, Atlanta, and in the
"March to the Sea," he vindicated his claim to a large
share of the MeDowell-Madison-Taylor-Strother blood.
70 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Pamela Brashear, the oldest daughter of Dennis Brashear
and Lucinda McDowell, married John Trotter, a son of
the Captain George Trotter who fought at Mississinewa,
under Major James McDowell, and who for gallantry was
made a colonel ; the mother of John Trotter was a sister
of the distinguished statesman and orator, Governor John
Pope. Pamela Brashear had no children by this marriage
with Trotter, after whose death she married Charles Alex-
ander, an uncle of the late " Lord " Robert A. Alex-
ander, and of the present A. John Alexander, of Wood-
burn, Woodford county. After Dennis Brashear's death,
Lucinda married General Merrill, of Lexington.
3. Mary, second daughter of William McDowell, was
the first wife of the late Major George C. Thompson, of
Mercer county, Kentucky, a son of George Thompson,
one of the early pioneers of Kentucky, and a near kins-
man of Hon. John B. Thompson, United States senator.
Major Thompson represented Mercer frequently in the
legislature, was a man of large wealth and influence.
Their children were Colonel Wm. M. Thompson, formerly
of Keokuk, Iowa, and now of Florida ; and Mrs. Mary
Kinkead, widow of the late Frank Kinkead, of Wood-
ford — a woman of intelligence, of great purity and eleva-
tion of character, who employs her large wealth in works
of benevolence and religion.
4. Judge William McDowell's son, William, married a
Miss Carthrac. She was the daughter of John Carthrae,
of Rockingham, Virginia, and Sophia Lewis, daughter of
Thomas Lewis and Jane Strother, and thus doubly related
to her husband.
5. Agatha, the fourth daughter of Judge McDowell,
married James G. Birney, the abolition candidate for presi-
dent in 1844. Mr. Birney' s father, James Birney, was a
native of Ireland, who had settled at an early day on a
farm near Danville, and whose wife was one of the daugh-
ters of John Reed, also an Irishman, who had emigrated
to Virginia about the middle of the eighteenth century,
and was one of the pioneers of Lincoln county, Avhere he
built his fort, in 1779. Many men of distinguished talents
The McDowells. 71
trace their ancestry to this John Reed and Lettice Wilcox,
his wife. His youngest son, Thomas B. Reed, was the
eloquent United States senator from Mississippi. The late
Vm. D. Reed, Judge John Green, Rev. Dr. Lewis Warner
Green, Willis G. Hughes, and James Gillespie Birney,
were among his grandsons. The wives of Major James
Barbour, of Dr. William Craig, of Dr. Ben. Edwards, of
Judge Cyrus Edwards, of Judge Paul Booker, of Sidney
Clay, were among his granddaughters. Revs. Joshua F.
and William L. Green, James and Rev. Lewis G. Barbour,
Rev. Dr. Willis G. Craig, Dr. Willis G. Edwards, of St.
Louis, and General Humphrey Marshall, were among his
great-grandsons. The history of James Gillespie Birney
is that of Kentucky, the South, and of the country. His
son, General William M. Birney, is engaged upon a work
which will present the details of his life, and which it is
unnecessary to anticipate. His oldest son by Agatha Mc-
Dowell, James G. Birney, an intellectual and cultivated
man, an able and learned lawyer, won distinction and
wealth at the bar in Michigan, was lieutenant-governor of
that state, and was the accomplished Minister of the
United States at The Hague. In the war he was a colonel,
and did good service. The second son, William M. Bir-
ney, an elegant scholar, was for some years professor of
English literature in the University of Paris, France; re-
turning to this country, engaged in the successful practice
of the law in Cincinnati and Philadelphia ; was all through
the war as a colonel and brigadier in the Federal army;
and now, in the afternoon of his life, enjoys a lucrative
practice at the bar of Washington City ; one of his
daughters has been successful in literature. The third
son of James G. and Agatha Birney was the handsome
and ehivalric David Bell Birney, talented as a lawyer, and
successful in business in Philadelphia; as colonel of a
Pennsylvania regiment, he was one of the most daring
fighters under the gallant Phil. Kearney, was promoted to
the rank of general for distinguished gallantry in the
field, and died from exposure, in 18G4.
6. Eliza, the youngest child of Judge William McDow-
72 Historic Families of K< ntucky.
ell, married Mr. Nathaniel Rochester, of Bowling Green,
and left several children, one of whom, Agatha Rochester,
married Mr. Strange, of Bowling Green.
Samuel McDowell, of Mercer.
To distinguish the fourth son of Judge Samuel Mc-
Dowell and Mary McClung from his father and nephews
of the same given name, he is designated -as of Mercer
county. Born in Rockbridge, March 8, 1704, Lis tender
years prevented him from going into the patriot army at
the beginning of the Revolution. Before its close, how-
ever, he disappeared from home, at the age of seventeen
years, joined Lafayette as a private soldier in the final
campaign against. Cornwallis, remained with that com-
mand until the end of the strno-o-le, which he witnessed at
Yorktown, in the siege and fighting at which place he
took a lively hand. His service was brief, he made good
use of the time at his disposal, and was " in at the death."
His father, suspecting the cause of his disappearance from
home, wrote to his elder brother, James, to keep a sharp
lookout for him among the new recruits. Finding him
footsore and siek, James wrote to their father to let him
have his fill of the realities of war as the best antidote for
his military penchant. The interval between the close of
the war and the removal of the family to Kentucky was
passed in the completion of his education. With them he
removed to Mercer county, in 1784, there located, and
there continued to reside during the remainder of his hon-
orable life. In the defense of the district, he saw frequent
additional service as a soldier, and accompanied General
Charles Scott in his expedition against the Indians of the
North-west. In General Hopkins' expedition against the
Indians of Illinois, he was a valued officer, though his age
then nearly reached half a century. Washington gave
another evidence of his confidence in and regard for the
family by appointing him the first United States Marshal
for Kentucky, when the state was organized, in 17i»2. In
subsequent years, the office has frequently been vastly
more lucrative, but it has never been of greater impor-
The McDowells. 73
tance than in that epoch of confusion and conspiracies.
With nnimpeached probity, and the utmost fidelity, he
discharged the duties of the position during the remainder
of the first and all of the second term of Washington, all
that of John Adams, and part of that of Jefferson. He
could not swerve from his devotion to the Federalism of
Washington to secure the good-will of " the apostle of
Democracy," and was by him dismissed, and Colonel
Crockett appointed as his successor. His letters disclose
his conviction that his removal was attributable to the
unfriendly representations of Senator John Brown, who,
from being a friend, had become an active and malevolent
enemy of all the family. It was natural and inevitable
that so ardent a Federalist should also have been equally
as zealous as a patriot. His letters show that even at so
early a day he was keenly alive to the pernicious tenden-
cies of the principles of disintegration which then threat-
ened the future of the country, and culminated in the at-
tempt to dissolve the Union. They also disclose spirit
and culture, and show him to have been a well-informed,
educated, thoughtful man of sense. A deeply religious
man, without parade or austerity, his character was as at-
tractive as his temper was amiable. Possessed of a natu-
ral pride in his name and kindred, an earnest belief in
their merits, and a warm desire for their advancement,
those will not be surprised who read in one of his letters
to his brother-in-law, General Andrew Reid, of Rock-
bridge, under date of September 22, 1813, an exclamation
of delight at hearing that General Eeid's son, Samuel
McDowell Reid, who had volunteered, and was doing good
service in the war, was "likely to be an honor to the
name" — an anticipation that was most happily realized.
ISTor will the reader wonder at what follows: " The name is
rising in Kentucky, all that the Democrats can say to the
contrary, notwithstanding." But the explanation of this
gratified pride will in vain be sought for in any dwelling
upon their social station, though that was high, as it had
always been; or in any boast of their increasing wealth,
though they were among the largest land-holders of the
74 Historic Families of Kentucky.
state; or in any allusion to the political honors that had
been bestowed on them in a state where Federalists were
unpopular. The explanatory lines that follow reveal the
man, as they are characteristic of the race : " There were
seven of the family out last fall (i. e., in the war) and win-
ter, and they all behaved well. . . . Brother Joseph is
Lis (Shelby's) adjutant-general, and my son John his as-
sistant. William McD.'s sons, Sam. and Madison, and
James McDowell's son John are also with him. . . .
My son Abram was out with the army all last winter ; he
was with Colonel Campbell at Massasineway. He went
out last spring as assistant quartermaster-general from
this state ; he was taken down with the fever in July last,
and has not yet entirely recovered. I could hardly pre-
vent him from going out with Shelby. ... I believe
it is the wish of all Kentuckians that the war should be
prosecuted with vigor." In a letter of an earlier date,
August 10, 1807, he wrote : " Kentucky is all in a buzz
again. Federal Republicans and Democratic Jacobins
all join to fight the British. . . . Nothing has hap-
pened . . . that has excited so general disgust as the
outrage of the Leopard on the Chesapeake. . . . But
one sentiment appears to prevail in the heart of every
Kentuckian — the hope that our administration will take
spirited and manly measures, . . . and let the British
see that the Americans have respect for their honor, as well
as their interest, and the courage to defend it. . . .
The people of Kentucky are beginning to have their eyes
opened, and to discover that the Federal Republicans are
the only true friends to their country. Humphrey Mar-
shall is elected representative from Franklin county by a
large majority, in defiance of the Democrats and Spanish
conspirators, and John Rowan is sent to Congress from
one of the most respectable districts in the state."
Among the very earliest settlers in the Valley of Vir-
ginia, were Scotch-Irish Presbyterian families, named
Irvine, kinsmen of the McDowells, and probably descended
from brothers of Ephraim McDowell's wife, who emi-
grated with hint to Pennsylvania, and some of whom fol-
The McDowells. 75
lowed him to Burden's Grant. Their names are found
among the soldiers of the French and Indian War, as well
as in the war of the Revolution, from- both Pennsylvania
and Virginia. Members of the family were among the
first settlers of Mercer county, neighbors to their Mc-
Dowell kin. Among; the magistrates who held the first
county court in Mercer, in August, 1786, were John Ir-
vine, Samuel McDowell, Sr., and Gabriel Madison. One
of this family, Anna, daughter of Abram Irvine, became
the wife of her kinsman, Samuel McDowell, of Mercer.
Eleven children were born to these well-mated kinspeople-.
1. John Adair McDowell, their oldest son, was born in
Mercer county, May 26, 1789 ; was well educated at the
best schools in the state; studied law in Mason county
under Alexander K. Marshall, who had married one of his
aunts, and who was one of the ablest lawyers in the state,
as well as one of the most intellectual members of that
extensive family. John Adair McDowell was with
General Samuel Hopkins in his expeditions against the
Illinois Indians in the fall of 1812, rendering valuable
services to that officer. When Governor Shelby called
upon the men of Kentucky to meet him at the mouth of
the Licking with their rifles, with the inspiring promise,
" I will lead you," his old friends, the McDowells, were of
the earliest to respond, and John Adair McDowell again
went to the field. Shelby at once placed him on his con-
fidential staff, and as an aide he was with the hardy, brave
old soldier at the Thames, and throughout all the arduous
campaign. When very young, he had married Lucy Todd
Starling, a daughter of William Starling and Susannah
Lyne, who were then residents of Mercer county. After
the close of the war, Major McDowell was induced by
Lucas Sullivant, who had married a sister of his wife, to
remove to Columbus, Ohio, whither he went, in 1815, im-
mediately entering upon a successful career as a lawyer.
In 1819, he was appointed attorney for the state; he was
a member of the Ohio Legislature in 1820, '21 ; his abili-
ties and attainments received appropriate recognition in
Lis appointment as Judge of the Circuit Court for the
76 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Columbus District, a position to which he gave dignity,
and held at the time of his death, in the prime of a vigor-
ous manhood, in 1823. Handsome in person, of graceful
manners, amiable temper, and decided character, he won
affection and respect from all ; death alone interfered be-
tween him and the highest honors of his adopted state.
1. His daughter, Anne, horn in 1810, married John Winston
Price, of Hillsboro. Her husband was a descendant of
the second William Randolph, of Turkey Island, whose
wife was a Miss Beverly; also of the gifted Winston s, from
whom came Patrick Henry, the Prestons, of South Caro-
lina, and General Joseph E. Johnston, of the Confederate
army. Mr. Price had been a law student under his rela-
tive, Chief Justice Marshall, and was for many years
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the Hillsboro
District. They had many children. 2. Another daughter
of Major John Adair McDowell married Hon. John A.
Smith, a lawyer of Hillsboro, who was honored by the
people among whom he lived by election several times to
the state legislature, to two constitutional conventions,
and as congressman for the district for several terms.
They also have a large family.
Abram Irvine, the second son of Samuel McDowell, of
Mercer, and Anna Irvine, was born April 24, 1793. A sol-
dier in the War of 1812, he fought at Mississinewa. Go-
ing to Columbus, Ohio, he was, for many years, clerk of
the supreme court, of the court of common pleas, and of
the court in bank, and was, at one time, mayor of Colum-
bus — an urbane man, much beloved and respected. His
wife was Eliza Selden, daughter of Colonel Lord, whom
he married in 1817. General Irvine McDowell, of the
United States army, who attained the highest military
rank of any of the name, was his oldest son: Colonel John
McDowell, a good soldier in the Union army, now living
in Keokuk, Iowa, was another son : and Malcolm M<1 >owell,
also an officer in the Union army, a third son : while his
daughter, Elize, married Major Bridgeman, of the regular
army.
The McDowells. 77
Dr. ¥m. A. McDowell.
The fourth son of Samuel McDowell, of Mercer, and
Anna Irvine, by name William Adair, was horn at the
family residence in Mercer, March 21, 1795. He w r as edu-
cated in the schools in the neighborhood of Danville, the
best in the state, and at Washington College, Lexington,
Va. In a letter of his father, already quoted, under date
of September 22, 1813, mention is made of seven of the
name being in the army, among them his elder brothers,
John Adair and Abram Irvine. In another letter, also ad-
dressed to General Andrew Reid, at Lexington, Virginia,
dated April 14, 1814, his father said : " My son, William,
will hand you this. I have sent him to Washington Acad-
emy to stay one year. . . . He has been living with
Dr. Ephraim McDowell for twelve months past, studying
medicine. I wish him to study science, and intended send-
ing him to the University at Lexington, Kentucky ; but
the fever has been so fatal there, and still is, and parties
are so violent, that I have sent him to your country." . . .
In another letter to General Andrew Reid, dated Septem-
ber 16, 1814, his father wrote : k * This evening I received a
letter from William, informing me that he was drafted,
and was just about starting to Richmond. . . . I hope
you will write me soon, and let me know how William
went. . . . He is young and inexperienced, and I feel
uneasy about him." ... So he also had a part in the
War of 1812, and it is known that he did some actual
fighting; and if he ran with the others, at Bladensburg,
there is precious little ground to blame him for that. He
was in General Winder's command. At the conclusion of
the war, he returned to Washington Academy, then re-
newed his medical studies with Dr. Ephraim McDowell, at
Danville, and received his diploma from the Medical Col-
lege of Philadelphia. Returning to Danville, he entered
upon the practice of medicine with Dr. Ephraim McDow-
ell, whom he assisted in some of the difficult operations
which rendered the latter famous throughout the world.
From 1819 to 1838 he resided, and most successfully prac-
78 Historic Families of Kentucky.
ticed, in Fineastle, Virginia ; then, removing to Louisville,
he continued there, with a brief interval passed in Evans-
ville, Indiana, until Ins death. In 1843, he published an
interesting volume of original and striking observations
upon the subject of pulmonary consumption. In Fincas-
tle, August 24, 1819, Dr. McDowell married Lis kinswoman
by the half blood, Maria Hawkins Harvey. She was the
daughter of Matthew Harvey, a Revolutionary soldier,
whose wife was Magdalen Hawkins, daughter of Benjamin
Hawkins, a gay, handsome and graceful cavalier, who had
run away with and married Martha Burden, daughter of
Benjamin Burden, Jr., and Magdalena Wood, the widow
of Captain John McDowell, killed by the Indians in 1742.
Thus, the blood of Benjamin Burden, the grantee, and of
John McDowell, without whose aid he could not have ful-
filled the conditions of the grant, met in the union of Dr.
McDowell and his lovely kinswoman — still beautiful when
the writer saw her, thirty years ago. Ben. Hawkins and
Martha Burden had five other children besides the wife of
Matthew Harvey, one of whom was a daughter, Sarah
Hawkins, who married Thomas Mitchell, the son of James
Mitchell and Captain John McDowell's sister, Margaret.
The son of this Thomas Mitchell and Sarah Hawkins was
the old cashier at Danville of the same name. And thus,
again, the blood of McDowell, Mitchell, Burden and Haw-
kins mingled.
Judge Ballard.
1. Sarah Shelby McDowell, oldest daughter of Dr. Wm,
Adair McDowell and Maria Hawkins Harvey, married
Bland Ballard, nephew and namesake of the noted pio-
neer and Indian fighter. Mr. Ballard attained a high po-
sition as a lawyer in Louisville, but his frankly-avowed
sentiments in opposition to slavery and its extension, ex-
cluded him from political honors. When the office of
United States district judge was vacated by Hon. Thomas
B. Monroe, in 1861, Mi-. Ballard was appointed to the po-
sition by Mr. Lincoln, and held it until his death, eighteen
years thereafter. The situation of the S/tate and her peo-
ple during and after the war; the passage of the Freed-
The McDowells. 79
men's Bureau and Civil Rights bills, and other similar
measures, by Congress; the new and frequently-changing
laws for the collection of internal revenue, and other en-
actments of a similar nature, bringing before Judge Bal-
lard, for decision, many intricate questions, involving
principles never before adjudicated in this country: com-
bined to render the duties of his position at once delicate
and perplexing. To the discharge of tbese duties he
brought the powers of a clear, well-balanced mind, profes-
sional attainments that were highly respectable, and the
vigor of decided and firmly-rooted convictions. Judge
Ballard's widow and a number of children survive him;
among others, a son who bears bis name, and a daughter
who is the incarnation of the graces.
2. Henry Clay McDowell, the oldest son of Dr. William
Adair McDowell, was well educated, graduated with credit
in the Louisville Law School, and won bis own way to a suc-
cessful practice in the profession. For some years he was
the partner of Judge Ballard. Inheriting the political
opinions of those who preceded him, he was one of the
earliest in Kentucky to enlist in the Union army, and as
aide to General Alexander McDowell McCook, with the
rank of captain, he saw much active service, participating
in the hard fighting of the campaigns of the Army of the
Cumberland. He left the service to accept, from Mr. Lin-
coln, the position of United States Marshal for Kentucky.
A splendid specimen of physical manhood, tall, well pro-
portioned and vigorous, black haired and dark eyed, grace-
ful in carriage and manners, at once amiable and spirited,
just minded and sensible, it is natural that, while adhering
to his own convictions, he should enjoy the respect and es-
teem of those who differ from him the most widely. Cap-
tain McDowell married Annette, daughter of the hero son
of Kentucky's "Great Commoner" — Lieutenant-Colonel
Henry Clay, who watered the field of Buena Vista with
the rich current of his life's blood. The wife of Colonel
Henry (May was one of the daughters of Thomas Prather,
a man of the highest character, who, as one of the early
merchants of Louisville, and perhaps the most successful
80 Historic Families of Kentucky,
and wealthy of his generation, sustained a reputation for
the most scrupulous honor, second to that of no man in
the country. The wife of Thomas Prather was one of nine
beautiful sisters, the Misses Fontaine, daughters of one of
the earliest of the pioneers, and descendants of Jacques
Fontaine, horn at the village of Chatelas, and long the
pious Huguenot pastor of Royan, whence he fled on the
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The descendants of
this noble man, under his own name, and that of Maury,
and others, have been eminent in Virginia, in the West
and South, as Episcopal ministers, as scientists, and in all
the learned professions. One of the sisters of Mrs. Clay
was the beautiful first wife of Rev. Dr. E. P. Humphrey,
and another, the first wife of the distinguished and able
Judge S. S. Nicholas, of Louisville. Captain Henry C.
McDowell resides at the old "Ashland" home of his wife's
grandfather, the patriot orator, Henry Clay.
3. Wm. Preston, second son of Dr. Wm. Adair McDow-
ell, also went into the Union army at the beginning of the
civil war, his first service being as adjutant of the Fif-
teenth Kentucky Infantry, commanded by Colonel Curran
H. Pope ; afterwards as aide to General L. H. Rousseau,
with the rank of major. In the battle of Perryville, he
was wounded; at Stone River, his conduct was gallant
and meritorious. He married Miss Kate Wright, and lives
in Louisville.
4. Edward Irvine, the fourth son of Dr. Wm. A. Mc-
Dowell, as captain in the Fifteenth Kentucky Infantry,
had a record for good conduct and courage in many of the
hardest fought battles in the West — an honorable career,
which was ended by his heroic death at Resaca; shot
through the head while leading his men in a charge upon
the Confederate rifle-pits.
Joseph, fifth son of Samuel McDowell, of Mercer, and
Anna Irvine, married Anne Bush, settled in Alabama,
where he achieved prominence as a lawyer. His daugh-
ter, Mary, married Judge Clarke, of Mississippi; Bettie
married Dr. Welch, and settled in Galveston, Texas.
Alexander Keith Marshall, the youngest son of Samuel
The McDowells. 81
McDowell, of Mercer, and Anna Irvine, was born in Mer-
cer in 1806. His childhood was passed in Mercer. His
mother dying when he was about ten years old, he was
sent to Franklinton, Ohio, where he lived, alternatively,
with his two elder brothers, and attended school. Later,
he received instruction at the academy of the learned and
celebrated Dr. Priestley, in Tennessee, where one of his
classmates was Andrew J. Donelson ; and afterward was
sent to the college at Nashville. On attaining maturity,
he bought land near Palmyra, Missouri, and while living-
there, married Priscilla, daughter of General Robert Mc-
Afee — the historian of, and a gallant officer in, the War of
1812 — who had removed from Kentucky to Missouri.
After a brief residence in Missouri, be determined to set-
tle permanently in the South; and while proceeding
thither with his wife and their infant, the two latter died
tragically in the burning of the : - Ben. Sherrad," on the
Mississippi, while the bereaved husband made the narrow-
est of escapes by swimming the great river. Returning
to Missouri, after another brief residence there, he sold
his lands, and, with his servants, went to Demopolis, Ala-
bama, where be bought a plantation. After a widowerhood
of fifteen years, he there married Anna, daughter of Se-
bastian Haunt, a native of Philadelphia, and son of a rich
ship-owner of that city. Mr. Haupt bad been for many
years a prosperous coffee planter in the Island of Trinidad,
and on returning to this country, avoided the rigors of
northern winters by settling upon large tracts of rich land
which he bought in Greene and Sumpter counties, Ala-
bama. Miss Haupt was an educated and intellectual
woman. Her husband. Mr. McDowell, after their mar-
riage, continued to live upon and cultivate a cotton planta-
tion, together with the avocations of a civil engineer, for
which be had been educated, until about four years before
the war, when he became a resident of Demopolis. He
had taken part in the " Black Hawk War,"" in which he
was wounded in the knee, crippling him for life. His
condition did not prevent his early enlistment in the
6
82 Historic Families of Kentucky.
southern army, but he was soon detailed from the Line to
other and more important duties. About the time of the
surrender, he was chosen probate judge of Marengo
county. In 1868, he sold out what possessions in Ala-
bama the war had left him, and removed to St. Louis,
where he remained until 1873, when he became a citizen
of Cynthiana, and afterward clerk of the Harrison circuit
court. A handsome, stately gentleman, of winning and
graceful manners, sunny temper, extensive reading, and
attractive gifts, he is also an uncompromising Calvinist.
His only surviving daughter, Mrs. Louise Irvine McDow-
ell, is the wife of her kinsman, Dr. Hervey McDowell, of
Cynthiana — an accomplished lady, of native talent broad-
ened by elegant culture, whose general and accurate in-
formation, not less than her ready and sportive wit, render
her the most interesting of correspondents, the most
charming of conversationalists. His son, Colonel E. C.
McDowell, lives at Columbia, Tenn.
Sallie, the youngest daughter of Samuel McDowell, of
Mercer, born in 1801, married Jeremiah Minter, at Colum-
bus, Ohio, March 12, 1819; resided for. years in Lex-
ington, Kentucky ; then removed to Missouri, where her
numerous posterity live.
The Starlings.
Mary, the oldest child of Samuel and Anna (Irvine)
McDowell, was born in Mercer, June 12, 1787, and, on the
13th of June, 1805, married William Starling, and at first
settled near Danville, Kentucky. An interesting account
of Mr. Starling's family may be found in the valuable
family memorial published by his nephew, Mr. Joseph
Sullivant, of Columbus, Ohio. After leaving the vicinity
of Danville, Mr. Starling moved with his family to a fine
farm opposite Frankfort, and for some years was engaged
in mercantile pursuits in that city. Meeting with busi-
ness reverses, he removed from Frankfort to Christian
county, where he died. His widow, a strong-minded and
well-informed woman, of great energy and firm purpose,
survived him many years, revered of all for the highest
qualities of a noble womanhood. Dying at a good old
The McDowells. 83
age, she bequeathed her resolution and courage to a gallant
brood. Lyne, the oldest of her hardy offspring, was born
in 1806 ; studied law, and entered upon its practice, in Co-
lumbus, Ohio ; abandoned the profession to accept an ap-
pointment to the clerkship of the court of common pleas
and of the supreme court. Resigning this position, after
having secured a competence, his business ventures led
him, at various times, to New York City, to Illinois, and
to the South. The waves of the civil war had scarcely
broken upon Kentucky, when this amiable, lovable and
courteous gentleman entered the Union service. As chief
of staff to General Thomas L. Crittenden, with the rank
of colonel, his services were valuable in the organization
of the splendid Army of the Cumberland; upon the
bloody field of Shiloh, he was distinguished for cool cour-
age and capacity ; and for gallant conduct at Stone River
and subsequent campaigns in which Crittenden's corps
participated, he was promoted to the rank of general. He
married Marie Antoinette Hensley. His oldest son, Will-
iam, was also in the Union army. Lyne, another son,
married his kinswoman, Miss Watson, a granddaughter of
John J. Crittenden. His daughter, Lizzie, a brilliant
woman, is the wife of Robert P. Pepper, of Frankfort.
The second son of William Starling and Mary McDow-
ell, Samuel, was born September 19, 1807. Well read, ro-
bust in mind and body, he had passed his half century four
years before the civil war. Thoroughly a patriot, with an
inherited devotion to the union of the states, his years did
not prevent him from offering his services to the imper-
illed government. As chief of staff to General James S.
Jackson, he was by the side of that chivalric officer when
he fell at Perryville ; then, taking charge of the dead
Jackson's Division, he led it into the fight, commanded it
to the close of the severe engagement, and displayed high
qualities as a soldier; was afterwards an officer of cavalry,
and served npon the staff of General Judah. The Mc-
Dowell race has given to the country no braver man. Col-
onel Samuel Starling married Elizabeth Lewis. Among
the notable alliances of this historic breed, the history of
84 Historic Families of Kentucky.
no family is more interesting than that of the wife of Col-
onel Samuel Starling — one of the most ancient in Amer-
ica ; illustrious in its various Lines, in arms, in statesman-
ship, in the professions, and in the deeds of manhood.
Of the Welsh colonists, who gave tone to the society of
Virginia in the first half of the seventeenth century, not
one was more respectable, nor one of higher character and
standing, than General Robert Lewis, who, with his kin-
dred, came over about the year 1645, entered lands, and
made ids home in one of the tide-water comities. His
people had been sheriffs, sheriff deputies, county lieuten-
ants, justices, and members of Parliament from Breck-
nock, Pembroke, Glamorgan, and other comities of Wales,
for centuries before he founded in this country a hardy
and enduring race; and, to the present day, the name of
Lewis belongs to the most prominent of the Welsh landed
gentry. He had two sons, John and William. John
married Isabella Warner, probably a daughter of the
Captain Augustine Warner, also a Welshman, who was
a member of the House of Burgesses from York county,
in 1652, ami again, from Gloucester, in 1658, '59, and a
member of the Royal Council in 1659, '60. Another
daughter of tins Captain Augustine and Mary Warner,
Sarah, married Colonel Lawrence Towneley, and was the
ancestress of "Light Horse Harry,** and of General Rob-
ert E. Lee. Captain Warner had also a son, Augustine
Warner, born in Virginia in 1642, educated at the Merchants
Tailors* School, in London, and at Cambridge, and who
was Speaker of the House of Burgesses in 1676, '77 — of
the house succeeding the downfall of Bacon's Rebellion —
and again, in 1680; and was a member of the Royal Coun-
cil in 1680, '81. The latter was the colonel commandant
of Gloucester county, and is known as Speaker Warner,
to distinguish him from his lather. His wife was Mildred,
daughter of George Reade, who was secretary of the
colony in 1637, acting governor in 1638, '39, a member of
the House of Burgesses, from James City county, in 1649,
and frequently thereafter; a member of the Royal Coun-
cil in 1657, in 1658, in '59, '60, and succeeding years.
The McDowells. 85
From the sons of George Reade, some of the most emi-
nent men of Virginia and the South descended ; one
of his descendants was Thomas Rootes, the grandfather of
Howell Cobb, of Georgia. Speaker Augustine Warner
and Mildred Reade had three daughters. The oldest, Mil-
dred Warner, married Lawrence Washington, son of Col-
onel John Washington and Anne Pope ; Mary, the second
daughter, married Colonel John Smith, of Purtons, son of
the Major John Smith who was the Speaker of the House
of Burgesses in 1660, and subsequent years, and became
the ancestress of a family of that and other names, who
were highly respectable as soldiers, scholars, and in pub-
lic affairs; Elizabeth, the third daughter, married John
Lewis, son of the above-named John Lewis and Isabella
Warner. The second John Lewis was prominent as a
burgess, as a councillor, and as a citizen. His sons were
John, Charles — a distinguished officer in the French and
Indian War — Warner, who married Eleanor Bowles,
widow of Governor Gooch's son, William, and Fielding.
The latter was the patriotic Colonel Fielding Lewis, of
Fredericksburg, who rendered valuable services to the
cause of independence in the Revolution as superintendent
and owner of the manufactory of arms, advancing large
sums on 1 : of his own abundant means to supply the soldiers
of the colonies in the darkest hour of their penury and
distress. Lawrence Washington and Mildred Warner had
three children — John, Augustine, and Mildred. The old-
est of these, John, married Catherine Whiting, a beautiful
woman and heiress, of Gloucester, and their daughter,
Catherine Washington, was the first wife of her kinsman,
Colonel Fielding Lewis, son of John Lewis and Elizabeth
Warner. Colonel Fielding and Catherine (Washington)
Lewis had an only son to live, named John. Augustine,
second son of Lawrence Washington and Mildred Warner,
married, for his second wife, Mary Ball ; their oldest son
was George Washington, President of the United States;
their only daughter, Petty Washington, was the second
wife of Colonel Fielding Lewis, by whom she had a nu-
merous progeny, notable in themselves and in their de-
86 Historic Families of Kentucky.
seendants. Mildred, the only daughter of Lawrence Wash-
ington and Mildred Warner, married, first, Roger Greg-
ory, by whom she had three daughters, Mildred, Frances,
and Elizabeth, who married three brothers, Colonel John,
Colonel Francis, and Reuben Thornton. She married,
secondly, Colonel Henry Willis, the founder of Fredericks-
burg, by whom she had a son. Colonel Lewis Willis, and a
daughter, Anne, who married Duff Green. John Lewis,
the son of Colonel Fielding and Catherine (Washington)
Lewis, was married five times. First, to Lucy Thornton,
youngest daughter of Colonel John Thornton and Mildred
Gregory, by whom he had a daughter, Mildred; the sis-
ters of Lucy Thornton married Samuel Washington,
brother of the President, General William Woodford, of
the Revolution, and John Taliaferro, of Dissington. Sec-
ondly, John Lewis married Elizabeth Thornton, daughter
of Colonel Francis Thornton and Frances Gregory, by
whom he had no child. One of the brothers of this second
wife was the gallant Colonel John Thornton, of the Revo-
lution, who married Jane, daughter of Augustine Wash-
ington, elder half brother of the president, and was the
ancestor of the wife of Senator James B. Beck. And
Mildred, one of the sisters of this second wife, was the
wife of Charles Washington, younger full brother of the
president. John Lewis' third wife was a daughter of Ga-
briel Jones, widely known in Virginia during his own gen-
eration and for years after all who knew him had passed
away, as "The Valley Lawyer." Governor Gilmer, of
Georgia, in his entertaining sketches of that state, asserts
that Gabriel Jones was the " kinsman, friend and executor
of Lord Fairfax." lie was horn in Virginia., was educated
at Christ Hospital School in London, served an apprentice-
ship to a lawyer of Temple Bar, and was persuaded to re-
turn to Virginia by his relative Hugh Mercer — a fugitive
from the battle of Culloden, where he fought for the
Young Pretender, who then settled at Fredericksburg,
fought in the French and Indian war, was the first colonel
of the Third Virginia Infantry, and died the death of a
hero at Princeton. Gabriel Jones rose rapidly in his pro-
The McDowells. 87
fession ; in attainments he was second to no man at the
colonial bar; in native ability he was conspicuous among
those who stood in the first rank; he was the first King's
attorney for Augusta county, appointed in 1746. The
wife of Gabriel Jones was a daughter of William Strother,
of Stafford county, and Margaret Watts. This William
Strother, of Stafford, was one of the sons of Jeremiah
Strother, who died in Stafford in 1741, leaving eight sur-
viving children. James, one of the sons of Jeremiah
Strother, married Margaret, daughter of Daniel French,
of King George county, and died in 1761. French, son of
this James, married Lucy Coleman, served in the Colonial
House of Burgesses and the state legislature for twenty-
nine years, was a member of the convention of 1776, as
well as of the convention of 1788-9, which adopted the
Federal Constitution. This French Strother's son, George
French Strother, represented the Culpepper district in Con-
gress, 1*17-20, in which latter year he was appointed re-
ceiver of public moneys, at St. Louis; married, first. Sally,
daughter of General James Williams; married, second,
the accomplished and beautiful Theodosia, daughter of the
late John W. Hunt, of Lexington, Kentucky. James
French Strother, son of the foregoing George French
Strother and Sally Williams, was in the Virginia legisla-
ture for ten years, and speaker of the house', 1847-8; was
in the constitutional convention of 1850, and a member of
congress, 1851-3. The sons of the foregoing James French
Strother, namely, James French and Philip W. Strother,
are both judges of courts in Virginia; Sallie Strother,
daughter of George French Strother and his second wife,
Theodosia Hunt, was the late accomplished and gifted
Baroness de Fahnenburg. Jeremiah Strother had another
son, named Francis, who married Susan Dabney, by whom
he had a large family. From the daughters of this Fran-
cis" son, John, were descended General E. 1\ Gaines, of
the United States army; General Duff Green, of Rappa-
hannock, and Hon. John Strother Pendleton, distinguished
as an orator, diplomatist and congressman. Francis
Strother's son, Anthony, was the father of Benjamin
88 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Strother, a gallant officer in the Virginia navy from 1776
to 177!». and an officer in the Continental army thence to
the dose of the Revolution. This Benjamin was the fa-
ther of John, who was an officer in the United States
army, from the beginning to the close of the War of 1812 ;
was, for many years, clerk of Berkley county, and, at the
age of sixty-nine years, volunteered in the Union army, in
1861, and, by his prompt and patriotic example, carried
with him many of his neighbors. This John Strother
married Elizabeth Pendleton Hunter, and, by her, was the
father of David H. Strother, distinguished as a general in
the Union army, and known to the world of letters as the
gifted tu Porte Crayon." The above Francis Strother and
Susan Dabney had another son, William Strother, of Or-
ange countv, who married the widow Pannill ; and their
daughter, Sarah, was the wife of Colonel Richard Taylor,
of the Revolution, and the mother of " Old Rough and
Ready," President Zachary Taylor.
Jeremiah Strother's son, William, of Stafford, and Mar-
garet Watts, had thirteen daughters, and no son. One of
these daughters, Jane Strother, was the wife of the able,
learned, and patriotic Thomas Lewis, oldest son of rugged
Irish John, and colleague of Samuel McDowell and John
Harvie in the House of Burgesses and in the conventions
of delegates. Agatha, the oldest daughter of Thomas
Lewis, married, first, her cousin, Captain John Frogg, who
was killed at Point Pleasant; and afterward married her
cousin, Colonel John Stuart, of Greenbrier, whose mother
was Jane Linn, a sister of old John Lewis' wife. Colonel
Stuart was in the battle of Point Pleasant, and was also a
gallant officer in the Revolution. Thomas Lewis' son,
John, was a captain at Point Pleasant, was there danger-
ously wounded, and was a Revolutionary officer. Thomas
Lewis' daughter, Elizabeth, married Thomas Merriwether
Gilmer, and was the mother of Governor Gilmer, of Geor-
gia. Thomas Lewis' daughter, Sophia, married John
Carthrae, and it was their daughter who became the wife
of William S. McDowell, son of Judge William McDowell
and Marsraretta Madison. Charles, the third son and
.-
The McDowells. 89
eleventh child of Thomas Lewis and Jane Strother, mar-
ried Miss Yancey, and lived in Rockingham, and by her
was the father of the distinguished General Samuel H.
Lewis, of that county. The latter first married his rela-
tive, Anne, granddaughter of Colonel Charles Lewis, who
fell at the Point, by whom he had eight children, among,
them Charles H. Lewis, the United States Minister to
Portugal in 1873, and John Francis Lewis, United States
senator from Virginia, 1874. The second wife of General
S. H. Lewis was a daughter of the able and learned Judge
John Tayloe Lomax ; and Hon. Lunsford Lomax Lewis,
Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia, is
his son by her. Another daughter of William Strother,
of Stafford, married John Frogg, and was the mother of
the Captain John Frogg who was killed at the Point. A
fourth daughter of William Strother of Stafford, was the
wife of John Madison, the first clerk of Augusta, some
account of whose family will be found in connection with
his daughter, Margaretta Madison, wife of Judge William
McDowell. Gabriel Jones, the great lawyer of the Val-
ley, and Margaret Strother, had but one son, Strother
Jones; the latter had but one son, William Strother
Jones, who married Anna Maria, daughter of Charles
Marshall, one of the sons of Colonel Thomas Marshall.
The descendants of William Strother Jones are as re-
spectable as they are numerous, and have extensively in-
termarried among their Marshall kindred and that con-
nexion. Margaret, one of the daughters of Gabriel Jones,
married John Harvie, the same who was a burgess in
1765, was one of the Virginia signers of the Articles of
Confederation, and was for many years register of the
Virginia Land Office. These two were the parents of
General Jacquelin Harvie, who married the only daughter
of Chief Justice Marshall, and of John Harvie, who mar-
ried his cousin, Margaret Hawkins, and lived and died in
Frankfort — a man of fastidious sense of honor, scrupu-
lous integrity, and chivalric courage, president of the
Bank of Kentucky, member of the board of internal im-
provements, and a valued member of the legislature.
90 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Another daughter of ( rabriel Jones and Margaret Strotlier,.
Anna Gabriella, married John Hawkins, who. the -writer
believes, was a nephew to the Ben. Hawkins who married
Martha Harvey. This John Hawkins was a soldier of the
Revolution — adjutant of Colonel Marshall's Third Infantry
Regiment. As just stated, his daughter, Anna Gabriella,
married her cousin, John Harvie, and Mas the mother of
John S. and Lewis E. Harvie, and Mrs. Breathitt, of
Frankfort. A third daughter of G-abriel Jones and Mar-
garet Strotlier was, as already stated, the third wife of
John Lewis, son of Colonel Fielding Lev/is of Fredericks-
burg, and Catherine Washington. John Lewis and Mar-
garet Jones had a son, Gabriel Jones Lewis, who was born
in 1770. came to Kentucky when a young man, and before
the beginning of this century was much about Frankfort
and Lexington, where he was the trusted agent and ad-
viser of large numbers of Virginians having claims and in-
terests in Kentucky. He married, in 1807, Mary Bibb, a
sister of the able and distinguished Judge George M.
Bibb and of the late John B. Bibb, one of the noblest and
best of men. They were the offspring of Rev. Richard
Bibb, a learned and eloquent minister of the Episcopal
Church of Virginia. Gabriel J. Lewis and Mary Bibb
were the parents of Elizabeth Lewis, who became the wife
of Colonel Samuel Starling, of Hopkinsville. Colonel Sam-
uel Starling's son, Lewis, lost his life as a soldier in the
Confederate army. His son. Fielding, died in the Union
service, as a lieutenant of the Eighth Kentucky Cavalry,
in 1863. His son, Thomas, married Fannie Killebrew, and
had by her rive children. His daughter, Mary Starling,
married William R. Payne, who survived the marriage
only a few days. Mrs. Payne, in intellect, in culture,
in elevation of mind and character, in courage, in
earnest religion, is a worthy descendant of these illustri-
ous lines: higher praise can not be given any woman.
The fourth wife of John Lewis was Mary Ann Fon-
taine, the widow Armistead — her father, of that ex-
cellent Huguenot stock; her mother, a Winston, of
the same blood as Patrick Henry, the South Caro-
The McDowells. 91
Una Prestons, and Mrs. Madison. John Lewis' fifth wife
was Mildred Carter, widow of Robert Mercer, a son of the
Princeton hero; she was a daughter of Landon Carter,
her mother being a daughter of Colonel Lewis Willis.
It is a noteworthy circumstance that the two first wives
of John Lewis were granddaughters of his great-aunt,
Mildred Washington, by her first husband, Roo-er (irre°;ory,
and his fifth and last wife, her great-granddaughter by her
second husband, Colonel Henry Willis. A grandson of
this lady, John W. Willis, was among the surveyors in
Kentucky in 1774. The party was assailed by the In-
dians — some killed, the others scattered. Willis and two
companions escaped in an Indian pirogue, or dug-out,
descended the Kentucky river to the Ohio, then went
down that stream to the Mississippi, and thence to ISTew
Orleans — probably the first white men who ever made the
trip. John Lewis advanced to Wilkinson the money and
goods to make his expedition down the Mississippi in
1787 — the first trading expedition ever ventured between
Kentucky and the Spanish and French of Mississippi and
Louisiana. And Merriwether Lewis, a descendant of Gen-
eral Robert Lewis, the Welshman, and a kinsman of John
Lewis, was the first man to explore the western territory
from St. Louis to the Pacific.
Edmund Alexander, youngest son of William Starling
and Mary McDowell, was horn in Logan county, Kentucky,
in 1827. His vocation was that of a merchant, before the
war doing a large business in Xew York. He entered the
Union service, raised the Thirty-fifth Kentucky Cavalry,
which he commanded as its colonel. At the attack upon
the salt works of Abingdon, Virginia., he commanded a
brigade. When peace was declared, he engaged in mer-
cantile pursuits in Hopkinsville, where he married Annie
L. MeCarroll. He was elected sheriff of Christian county,
and, when a candidate for re-election, was basely mur-
dered. He had all the courage and manliness by which
the breed were distinguished.
After the lapse of more than three-quarters of a- century
teeming with mighty events — revolutions, the rise and
02 Historic Families of Kentucky.
overthrow of empires, the fall of dynasties, the strides of
populations, and wonderful discoveries in material science
— it is still pleasant and instructive to peruse this letter
from a patriotic gentleman of the olden school:
"May 29, 1809.
Dear Friend: — I received yours of the 9th of November,
and of the 11th of December, 1808. I have not had an
opportunity (except by mail) before this to answer them.
1 thank you for the good advice you give me, and for the
interest you express for my welfare. As to style in living,
I despise it; but I am now, and always have been, excess-
ively fond of the company of my friends, and have always
been able to treat them as well as they could me. . . .
You seem to think me a ' political sinner.' ... If a
strong attachment to the Federal Constitution and to the
union of the states is sin, I am guilty. If a wish to be
governed by law, and not by men, is sin, I am guilty. If
a disposition to submit to the laws of the United States,
and to have them well executed, is sin, I am guilty. If
measures to make it the interest of the people of the Uni-
ted States to remain united, be wrong, I am guilty. If to
oppose any thing that I think has a tendency to weaken
the Union, is wrong, I am guilty. These are all the prin-
ciples I have ever contended for. ... I felt anxious
to clear my character of some of the charges I understood
were made by the Browns against me. . . . lam your
friend, etc., Samuel McDowell, Jr.
To Andrew Reld, Esq.,
Lexington, Virginia."
How many Union men in Kentucky, all of whose sym-
pathies were with the institutions and people of the South,
will-find in this, the prophetic declaration of the principles
that constrained them sorrowfully to fly to arms in behalf
of their country, to prevent its destruction, and to submit
to the arbitrament of battle the issue forced upon them !
The writer, with his father and three of his brothers, had
fought in the Revolution; lie, his brothers, sons and neph-
The McDowells. 93
ews were soldiers in 1812 ; it seems right, natural and inev-
itable that nine of his grandsons, besides a number of his
great-grandsons, should have vindicated the principles they
inherited, by following in the civil war the flag he loved.
Colonel Joseph McDowell, of Danville.
The fifth son of Judge Samuel McDowell and Mary Mc-
Clung, Joseph, was born September 13, 1768. A child
when the Revolution commenced, and still a boy when
it ended, yet was his character molded by the stirring
events transpiring around him, and by the patriotic deeds
to the narration of which be was an eager listener. Com-
ing to Kentucky, with his father, in 1784, his youth was
passed in intimate association with the men who, in the
Danville conventions, prepared the way for separation from
Virginia, and who established and gave its peculiar tone
to the commonwealth. In the Indian campaigns, in which
Kentuckians were engaged in the North-west, between
the dates of his attaining the age for military service and
the treaty which followed the victory of' 1 Mad Anthony"
Wayne, he was a prompt and brave participant. He was
a private in Brown's company, in Scott's expedition of
1791. He was in both expeditions under General Hop-
kins, in 1812. The reputation for good sense, sound judg-
ment,, military capacity and courage won therein, induced
his appointment, by Shelby, to the position of adjutant-
general upon the staff of that bard fighting commander.
He served from the beginning to the close of Shelby's
campaign in the North-west, and was at the Thames, where
Tecumseh fell. For good conduct and valuable service
rendered in that campaign and battle, he received compli-
mentary mention, not only by his immediate commander,
but also from General Harrison. The occupation of Colo-
nel Joseph McDowell was that of a farmer. Disdaining
all shams, and himself one of the most unassuming of men,
his was eminently a veracious character ; in the perfect up-
rightness and simplicity of bis life, there was a constant
beauty. One of the most amiable, quiet and unobtrusive
of men, of all his sex there was none more resolute and
94 Historic Families of Kentucky.
determined. A ruling rider of the Presbyterian Church
for many years, and devoutly religious, in his observance
thereof there was no parade. In the decline of his honor-
able life, after he had withdrawn from all active participa-
tion in public affairs, the writer was witness to the respect-
ful deference shown him by the entire community among
whom he lived. He died, in Danville, June 27, 1856, at
the good old age of* eighty-eight years. The excellent
wife of Colonel Joseph McDowell was Sarah Irvine, sister
to Anne Irvine, wdio married his brother, Samuel — a rela-
tive, whose symmetrical character made her, in every way,
worthy of such a man. Samuel, their oldest son, married,
first, Amanda Ball, granddaughter of John Reed, already
mentioned, and a cousin of James G. Birney. Of this
marriage, the sole issue was a daughter, who was the wife of
Dr. Meyer, of Boyle county. This Samuel McDowell,
married, secondly, Martha Hawkins, by whom he had
children, among them Samuel and Nicholas, both farmers
in Boyle county. Colonel Joseph McDowell's oldest
daughter, Anna, married Abram I. Caldwell, descended
from one of the most reputable of the Scotch-Irish families
of the Valley, and a farmer of Boyle; they have a number
of children living in that county. Sarah, the second
daughter of Colonel Joseph McDowell, married Michael
Sullivant, of Columbus, Ohio. Of wonderful energy and
the most sanguine temper, Mr. Sullivant engaged in gi-
gantic agricultural enterprises, first upon his inherited
acres in Ohio, and afterwards in Illinois. He is best
known to the world as the once owner of the princely es-
tates of " Broadlands " and "Burr Oaks," in the latter
state. Throughout the most tremendous operations, and
amid the saddest vicissitudes, he preserved an untarnished
honor and the sunniest of tempers. Large hearted as well
as of herculean stature; free handed as lie was unreserved
and cordial in manner; frank, generous, hospitable and
cheery, his image will continue with the living as the most
pleasant of memories. The only son of Sarah McDowell
and Michael Sullivant, Joseph McDowell, is a prosperous
fanner near Homer, Illinois. Annie, one of their daugh-
The McDowells. 95
ters, is the wife of E. L. Davison, now of Louisville; and
Lucy5 another daughter, is the wife of Wm. Hopkins, a
grandson of General Samuel Hopkins, and resides in Hen-
derson, Kentucky. Margaret Irvine McDowell, the third
daughter of Colonel Joseph, of Danville, was the first wife
of Joseph Sullivant, of Columbus, a younger brother of
Michael. Mr. Joseph Sullivant's second wife was Mary
Eliza Brashear, granddaughter of Judge William McDow-
ell. He was a man of cultivated tastes, devoted to scien-
tific pursuits, too public spirited for his own welfare in a
pecuniary sense, and did much to develop literary and sci-
entific ambitions and enterprises in bis native Columbus.
In many ways a public benefactor, in all ways he was a
useful citizen, and at all times a gentleman. He lived to
a venerable and respected old age. His first wife died in
giving birth to their only child, Margaret Irvine Sullivant,
the wife of Henry B. Carrington, a brigadier-general of
volunteers in the Union army, colonel of the Eighteenth
Regular Infantry, now on the retired list — a gallant and
capable officer. Mrs. Carrington is dead; two worthy sons
survive her. Magdalen, the fourth daughter of Colonel
Joseph McDowell, of Danville, married Caleb Wallace, a
lawyer, of Danville ; her husband was a grandson of Judge
Caleb Wallace, of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, whose
wife was a sister of Colonel William Christian. Mrs. Mag-
dalen Wallace is still living, in Danville, blessed with two
manly sons, McDowell and Woodford.
Dr. Ephraim McDowell.
The sixth son of Judge Samuel McDowell and Mary
McClung, Ephraim, was born in Augusta county, now
Roekbridge, Virginia, November 11, 1771. In his early
boyhood, he had the advantage of the best schools in his
native state ; at the age of thirteen years, he came with
his father across the mountains and through the wilder-
ness to Kentucky. In Danville, then the seat of the best
and most intellectual society in the west, and under the
instruction of scholarly teachers, the remainder of his boy-
hood was passed. At Bardstown, and at the academy in
96 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Lexington, Virginia, his thorough classical education was
completed. There followed two years of close application
in the study of medicine, in Staunton, Virginia, under Dr.
Humphreys, a graduate of the University of Edinburg.
Perhaps it was this circumstance that persuaded him to
take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the abun-
dant means and liberal ideas of his father to further prose-
cute his medical studies at the University of Edinburg.
Thither be repaired in 1793, "94, remaining two years.
There he had for his preceptor and friend the great sur-
geon, John Bell, " a man of splendid genius, of high in-
tellectual endowments, an eloquent teacher, and a bold,
dashing operator." Xot waiting to take his degree, he
immediately, upon his return to America, settled at Dan-
ville, and there entered upon that professional career the
results of which placed him among the greatest of human
benefactors. With the prestige of foreign study, its com-
mencement was auspicious; the fame of his successful
operations rapidly spreading, patients flocked to him from
all parts of the South and West ; he found himself well
nigh overwhelmed by a large surgical practice demanding
many of the most difficult and severe operations. The en-
tire profession now accord to him the credit and praise of
being the originator of ovariotomy. Only twelve years
after he had entered upon the practice, in 1809, at the
little town of Danville, upon the person of Mrs. Crawford,
an heroic Kentucky woman, he first performed that most
difficult of feats in surgery, the actual removal of an ovarian
tumor, the patient surviving the operation thirty-two
years, in vigorous health, and dying at length in her
seventy-ninth year. This he did without a precedent in
the Whole history of surgery since the world began ; with-
out a guide in any of the books, from the experience of
others or of his own; without the use of anaesthetics;
without assistants with whom to share the glory of success-
ful achievement or the responsibility of failure. For
years he bad no imitators. Eight years elapsed before his
modesty permitted him to report its successful accom-
plishment. Then the ablest surgeons in Europe and
The McDowells. 97
America, proclaiming success in such an operation to be
an impossibility, discredited the statement that the entire
profession had been eclipsed by one whom they were dis-
posed to regard as a country practitioner. The most sav-
age and satirical of his assailants. Dr. James Johnson, the
able and learned editor of the " London Medieo-Chirur-
gical Review,''- lived to "ask pardon,'' in 1827, for his
" uncharitableness, of God, and Dr. Ephraim McDowell, of
Danville." The concurrent testimony of the profession is
that, in his origination of ovariotomy, Dr. McDowell
" added forty thousand years to the sum of human life."
The virtues which were consecrated to the savinff of
O
human life, and the mitigation of human suffering, were
sought to be perpetuated by the appreciative and grateful
profession in Kentucky in the erection of a costly and
graceful monument to his memory, which adorns the town
in which he lived. Dr. Gross, one of the ablest and most
distinguished of American surgeons, justly said of him :
"Had McDowell lived in France, he would have been
elected a member of the Royal Academy of Surgery, re-
ceived from the king the Cross of the Legion of Honor,
and obtained from the government a magnificent reward —
as an acknowledgment of the services he rendered his
country, his profession, and fellow-creatures." His pro-
fessional history is that of the greatest advance in surgical
science of modern times. With a broad and elevated
mind, and a heart gentle and tender as that of a woman,
he was not afraid of the sight of blood ; pre-eminently
bold, his exceptional skill was aided by an unfailing nerve.
He was no mere money grubber; careless as to pecuniary
rewards, for the poor he had a kindness and a charity that
were inexhaustible. Six feet in height, his complexion
was florid, eyes black, presence commanding, and his ac-
tivity and muscular power remarkable. He died in 183Q.
Dr. McDowell was thirty-one years old when he married
Sarah, daughter of Governor Shelby. Their only son was
named after J uclge Caleb Wallace. He married a Miss Hall,
of Shelby county, Kentucky, and after a residence of some
7-
98 Historic Families of Kentucky.
years on a farm in Boyle county, removed to Missouri, where
he died. Wallace McDowell's son, John Hal] McDowell,
was a gallant soldier in Cockrill's Missouri Brigade of
the Confederate army, and in 1865, a few days after the
battle of Selnia, Alabama, died in the hospital at that place
of consumption contracted in the army. Wallace Mc-
Dowell's daughter, Florence, a very beautiful and charm-
ing woman, married her kinsman, Thomas Ii. Shelby, a
grandson of the governor. Mary, one of the daughters of
Dr. Ephraim McDowell, married Mr. Young, of Shelby-
ville. Another married Mr. Deadrick, of Tennessee. A
third married Major David C. Irvine, a prominent citizen
of Madison, which he represented with ability in the state
senate. A fourth daughter married Major Anderson, of
Doyle county, and moved to Missouri; their son, Ephraim
McDowell Anderson, was a soldier in the Confederate
army, and is now living in Paris, Missouri.
The seventh son of Judge Samuel McDow r ell and Mary
McClung, Caleb Wallace McDowell, was born April 17,
1774, and married his relative, Elizabeth McDowell, daugh-
ter of Colonel Joe McDowell, of North Carolina — Joe of
"The Quaker Meadows"— and Margaret Moffett, Their
only daughter married her kinsman, Joseph Chrisman, Jr.,
of Jessamine county, Kentucky. Joseph Chrisman, Jr.,
was a son of Hugh Chrisman, whose mother was, as has
been stated, a sister of Colonel Joe and General Charles
McDowell, of the Quaker Meadows, North Carolina. One
of the daughters of Joe Chrisman, Jr., married a Mr.
Lewis, and her son, Joseph McDowell Lewis, has in him
five crosses of the McDowell Wood. The other daughter
of Joe Chrisman, Jr., married Hon. Marcus Cruikshank,
of Talladega, Alabama.
In this connection, the reader will remember that Jo-
seph Chrisman, Sr., of Jessamine, was a brother of Hugh,
and also a son of a sister of the McDowells of the Quaker
Meadows; and that his daughter, Polly, married Samuel,
son of Colonel James McDowell, of Fayette. It was
George Chrisman, a son of Joseph, Sr., who married Celia,
the daughter of Colonel Joseph McDowell, of the Quaker
The McDowells. 99
Meadows. Jane, one of the daughters of George Chris-
man and Celia McDowell, married Gov. L. E. Parsons, of
Alabama; and another daughter married Jordan Scott, of
Jessamine. A son of Joseph Chrisman, Sr. — Lewis by
name — married a Miss Lyle, of Fayette, and was the
father of Addison L. and George Chrisman, of Jessamine.
A cousin of Lewis Chrisman — James — married a daughter
of Henderson Bell, whose wife was a daughter of Major
John McDowell and Lucy Le Grand. Of a verity, are
these McDowells and Chrisnians most wonderfully and
fearfully mixed.
The Reids and Moores.
The two oldest children of Judge Samuel McDowell
and Mary McClung, born October 9, 1755, were twin sis-
ters, Sarah and Magdalen. The former married Caleb
Wallace, a graduate of rrinceton — a Presbyterian minis-
ter at the time of the marriage. She died soon, and with-
out issue. Mr. Wallace abandoned the ministry, became
a successful lawyer, and was one of the first judges of the
Kentucky Court of Appeals. Magdalen married Andrew
Reid. Their oldest daughter, Sarah, married Andrew Moore,
whose father, also named Andrew, was a soldier in the
French and Indian War. The son distinguished himself
for gallantry at Point Pleasant. General Andrew Moore,
as he was designated, was a member of Congress from the
Lexington, Virginia, district from 1789 to 1797; he was
re-elected in 1804, and that same year was elected to the
United States Senate, rilling the place until 1809. lie died
in 1821. His oldest son was a member of Congress from
1833 to 1835; was a member of the convention that passed
the ordinance of secession in 1861, against which he voted.
Then a very old man, the efforts of Henry A. Wise to
dragoon him into the support of secession met with hu-
miliating failure. Afterward, he served in the Confed-
erate army. His wife was Evelyn, daughter of William
Alexander, of Rockbridge. Their daughter, Sallie Moore,
married her cousin, John Harvey Moore. The second son
of General Andrew Moore and Sarah Reid was David E.
Moore, a lawyer of high standing in Lexington, Virginia.
20 24
100 Historic Families of Kentucky.
lie married Elizabeth Harvey, a daughter of Matthew
Harvey and sister of Mrs. \\ ni. A. McDowell, and had by
her eight children; of whom, his son and namesake, Da-
vid E. .Moore, is ii prominent member of the bar of Rock-
bridge. Virginia married Tedford Barclay, and Elizabeth
is the wife of the scholarly Prof. Alexander Nelson.
A daughter of Andrew Reid and Magdalen McDowell
married a Mr. McCampbell, and their daughter married a
Venable, of a family distinguished in Virginia for literary
attainments. The second and third daughters of Andrew
Reid and Magdalen McDowell also married members of
the Venable family. The fourth daughter married Judge
Abraham Smith, of Rockbridge.
The fifth daughter of Andrew Reid and Magdalen Me-
Dowell, married Major John Alexander, of Lexington,
Virginia. Their son, John Alexander, is a lawyer of abil-
ity, and a citizen of prominence in Lexington, and their
daughter, Agnes, was the wife of Rev. Beverley Tucker
Lacey, the noted Presbyterian divine.
The only son of Andrew Reid and Magdalen McDowell,
was Dr. Samuel McDowell Reid, a skillful and distin-
guished physician of Lexington. He married a Miss
Hare, and his daughters married, respectively, Prof. James
White and Colonel John S. II. Ross. His son, bearing
his own name, is a wealthy and reputable citizen of Rock-
bridge.
The Bufords.
Martha, the third daughter of Judge Samuel McDowell
and Mary McClung, was born June 20, 1700; grew to be
a woman of strong sense and indomitable will; her letters
still in existence show her, also, to have been well edu-
cated, pious and patriotic, and a capital correspondent ;
letters written in good English and captivating style, filled
with religion, politics, family news and delightful gossip ;
such letters as few graduates of Vassar are capable of writ-
ing. In October, 1788, after the removal of the family to
Kentucky, she married Colonel Abraham Buford, who had
been a lieutenant at Point Pleasant, in the independent
company from Bedford county, commanded by his cousin,
The McDowells. 101
Captain Thomas Buford, whose blood helped to buy the
victory. Afterwards, Abraham Buford was a gallant and
patriotic officer in the Revolution, and did good service in
more than one battle. Placed in command of a regiment
of raw Virginians, he marched to the relief of Charleston,
but arrived too late to join the garrison before its surren-
der. Pursued by the intrepid Tarleton, with' his veteran
legion, and overtaken at Waxhaw, his undisciplined com-
' mand was almost annihilated, quarter being refused ; 113
were killed outright, 150 were too badly hacked to be re-
moved, while only 53 could be brought as prisoners to
Camden. Colonel Buford lived to do good and hard fight-
ing after that, to acquire a magnificent body of land in
Scott county, Kentucky, as the reward for his services,
and to marry Martha McDowell. The colonel and his
wife were both staunch Federalists — the latter a sound
Presbyterian. Their oldest son was Charles S. Buford, an
accomplished scholar and an excellent gentleman ; two of
whose sons were officers in the Federal army, and whose
oldest daughter, Pattie, was the wife of the chivalric Gen-
eral James S. Jackson — as handsome as he was brave,
with the beauty of Alcibiades and the frank courage, sin-
cerity, and magnanimity of the lion-hearted Richard. Gen-
eral Jackson's talents were as handsome as his face; his
intellect as vigorous as bis form was robust. The most
splendid type of a Kentuckian, he was the embodiment of
generous manliness. In his twenty-fourth year, the Lex-
ington company of volunteers for Colonel Humphrey Mar-
shall's regiment in the war with Mexico deemed him the
fittest person to command them, and elected him their cap-
tain. Finding that his friend, Cassius M. (May, was about
to be left out of the service by General Owsley's refusal
to appoint him to a colonelcy, Jackson resigned his cap-
taincv in order that Clav might be chosen to the place,
and went under him as a private soldier. In 1857, albeit
known to have been an emancipationist, he was elected to
the state legislature from Christian, one of the largest
slave-holding counties in the state. Plis service in that
body was brilliant. Defeated, in 1859, for Congress, he
102 Historic Families of Kentucky.
was elected, in 1861, as a Union man, served during the
railed session of 1861, but left his seat to go to the front
as colonel of the Third Kentucky Union Cavalry, lie was
with Buell in all his campaigns in Kentucky, Tennessee,
Mississippi, and Alabama: for bis arduous and efficient
service, he was promoted to a brigadier. And at Perry-
ville he died'tbe death he coveted most, that of a hero, at
the head of bis command, in the beat and smoke of bat-
tle. Charles A. Buford was twice married. First, to a
daughter of John Adair, Governor of Kentucky, and Mrs.
Jackson and bis son Henry, who married bis cousin,
Betty Marshall, were bis children by that marriage. Sec-
ondly, to Lucy, daughter of Dr. Basil Duke and Charlotte
Marshall, who was the mother of his other children — Basil ;
Charles; Lewis M.; Charlotte; Susan McClung, who mar-
ried Major Edson, professor at West Point; and Hen-
rietta, who married Thomas Barbee. Another son of Col-
onel Abram Buford, William S., married a daughter of
Hon. George Robertson, distinguished as a congressman,
senator, jurist, and publicist. The only daughter of Col-
onel Abram Buford,' Mary, married James K. Duke, a
brother of Charles S. Buford's second wife. Mr. Duke
was a graduate of Yale, a scholarly man, of refined tastes,
and elegant manners and appearance, lie was educated
for a lawyer, but abandoned the practice, for which be had
no liking, in early manhood. He died in 1863. His
widow, who was born in 1805, still survives, in a graceful
and beautiful old age — a good wife, a devoted mother, a
sincere Christian, an affectionate friend : with strong prac-
tical sense, simple in her tastes and manners, faithful to
every trust and duty, and ambitious of good deeds. Basil,
one of the sons of this good and venerable woman, was
for many years a prominent lawyer of St. Louis, where his
family reside. Charlotte, her oldest daughter, married Mr.
Strahan, a Presbyterian minister. Pattie, another daugh-
ter, married General John Buford, of the United States
army. General Buford's father, Colonel John Buford,
was the son of a cousin of Colonel Abram Buford. His
mother was a daughter of Dr. John Watson, of Frank-
The McDowells. 103
fort. General Buford was a graduate of West Point, a
captain in the old regular army, and much beloved by
his associates. For gallant and meritorious service, and as
a recognition of his proved capacity, he was made briga-
dier-general and assigned to the command of a division of
cavalry. In McClellan's peninsular campaign; in the
tights with Stuart in Culpepper, and Orange, and Spottsyl-
vania ; at Antietam ; in the Valley and elsewhere; always
active, vigilant and energetic, he won for himself a most
enviable fame; and, dying in 1864, from disease, the result
of suffering and exposure in the discharge of duty, his
memory, as one of the heroes who died that the nation
might live, is enshrined in the affections of bis grateful
countrymen. Another daughter of Mrs. Duke, Caroline,
is the wife of General Green Clay Smith : at sixteen a sol-
«
dier in the Mexican war: a brigadier-general of Union
volunteers; a member of the legislature; twice a member
of Congress; a governor of one of the territories, and now
an eloquent evangelist of the Baptist Church. Another
son of Mrs. Duke, William, was a soldier in the Mexican
Avar and an officer in the Confederate army.
The Marshalls.
Mary, or Polly, the youngest daughter of Judge Samuel
McDowell and Mary McClung, was born in * Rockbridge
county, Virginia, on the 11th of January, 1772, and came,
with her parents, through the wilderness to Kentucky, in
1784. Among all who knew her, she enjoyed the reputa-
tion of a character as lovely as her face was beautiful, and
her person and manners graceful. As affectionate and hos-
pitable as she was amiable and pious, it is natural that she
should have been as universally admired and loved by her
husband's as she was by her own kindred. In October of
1794, she became the honored wife of Alexander Keith Mar-
shall, sixth son of Colonel Thomas Marshall of the Revolu-
tion, and younger brother of the chief-justice. The wife of
Colonel Marshall, the mother of his fifteen children, was
Mary Randolph Keith. Her father was James Keith, a na-
tive of Scotland, said to have been born at Peterhead, in Ah-
104 Historic Families of Kentucky.
erdeenshire, where the name and family had been con-
spicuous for centuries, and where they still abound. The
statement that he was descended from the particular fam-
ily of Keiths who were ennobled as Earls Marischal and
of Kintore may be true; but, if true at all, his relationship
to those of his own generation who held those titles was
so exceedingly remote that it is not now, by any human
ingenuity, in any way traceable. Fortunately, to his de-
scendants the truth or falsity of the statement is as little
important as it is to the world at large; for in this coun-
try there have been those among them, of other names,
who have been the equals of any Keith w r ho ever mar-
shaled the Scottish hosts, or charged at the head of the
Clan Chattan. He was educated in Marischal College of
the University of Aberdeen ; was, under Bishop Robert
Keith, a fellow-pupil of Field Marshal James Keith, who
saved the Prussian army, and laid down his own life, at
Hochkirch. In 1715, he abandoned his studies to take up
arms for the Old Pretender, and fought at the battle of
Sheriff Muir. That cause having ' collapsed, he remained
for several years among the highland fastnesses ; but again
proved his fidelity to the Stuarts, by aiding in the abortive
attempt of Seaforth and Marischal to raise the highlands
in 1719. Having been attainted, he then fled to Virginia,
took orders as an Episcopalian minister, and was for many
years rector of Hamilton parish. He married Mary Isham
Randolph, one of the daughters of the first Thomas Ran-
dolph, of Tuckahoe, and Mary Fleming. Thomas Ran-
dolph, of Tnckahoe, was the second son of William Ran-
dolph, of Turkey Island, and an elder brother of Richard
Randolph, — the grandfather of John, of Roanoke, — and of
Isham Randolph, — the grandfather of Thomas Jefferson.
Alexander K. Marshall was born at "Oakhill," Fauquier
county, Virginia, in 1770; removed, with his parents, to
Kentucky in 1785 : was educated at home by Scotch tutors,
whom his father always employed for the purpose, and by
whom he was well trained in English literature and in the
classics. After marriaere, Mr. Marshall removed to Mason
county, and, on the farm now owned by Colonel Charles
The McDowells. 105
A. Marshall, erected the brick house that is still standing-
after the lapse of almost a century. Like the most of his
brothers, he was a lawyer by profession, and, having a
legal acumen as acute as it was broad and comprehensive,
and a training as thorough as it was liberal, like them,
also, he occupied the head place in the front rank. Col-
lins, in the brief, meager and bald paragraph which he
gave to the first man in his generation, in all Northern
Kentucky, felt obliged to state that "he was one of the
very ablest lawyers of his day." His success was commen-
surate with his abilities ; practice came to him unsought,
and without resort to devious arts to obtain it. Careless
as to pecuniary rewards for his services, and liberal to the
point of prodigality in the hospitality of his home and in
all expenditures, he yet added largely to his magnificent in-
heritance. Of the extent of the latter, some idea may be
formed from the statement that he owned more than
10,000 acres of the finest land in Kentucky, on Mill creek,
in Mason county, besides numerous other valuable tracts
elsewhere. Mr. Marshall's talents were only less showy
than they were solid; a strong and argumentative speaker,
his efforts were clothed in the graces of rhetoric, to which
an animated manner, a full and sonorous voice, and an
emotional temperament, gave all the effects of eloquence.
One of the most decided and outspoken of the Federal
party, his abilities caused his election, from the Democratic
county of Mason, to the legislature in 1797, '8, '9, and in
1800. One of the early clerks of the court of appeals, he
was appointed reporterto that body, in 1817, and published
three volumes of reports, extending to 1821. Tall, large
and well proportioned, his manner was at once stately and
pleasing; a large head, a high and broad forehead, and
sparkling black eyes, gave force to a countenance that was
expressive and handsome. Mrs. Marshall died in 1822.
All of Mr. Marshall's children were hers. He married
again in 1823, a distant relative of his first wife, Mrs.
Eliza A. Ball, a very beautiful woman. She was a grand-
daughter of the heroic General AnVlrew Lewis.
The career and characteristics of General Lewis are well
106 Historic Families of Kentucky.
known to every reader of American history. Of his son,
John Lewis, Governor Gilmer, of Georgia — a near rela-
tive — in his "Sketches of Upper Georgia," says that he
"was an officer under his father at Grant's defeat, He
was made a prisoner, and carried to Quebec, and thence to
France. Upon his liberation, he went to London. His
very tall, erect, handsome person, his colonial commission,
and suffering as a prisoner, attracted the attention of roy-
alty sufficiently to procure for him a commission in the
British army. He belonged to a corps stationed near Lon-
don, either the King's or Queen's Guards. After some
years spent in acquiring the idle, dissipated habits of the
corps to which he helonged, he resigned, and returned to
Virginia. Upon his arrival in Alexandria, lie was greeted
with a splendid hall. Verv few Virginians had been hon-
ored with a commission in the regular army of Great
Britain, and still fewer had been permitted to serve in the
troops which immediately surrounded royalty. His fine,
manly person, aided by courtly manners and gallant
spirit, captivated Miss Patty Love, the most dashing belle
of the town. He married, and carried her to the home of
his family in the Valley of Virginia, His residence abroad
had not deprived him of his inclination for enterprise. He
settled a farm upon the extreme of the Virginia frontier."
Governor Gilmer proceeds to give an interesting account of
how his negroes, with the hope that after their master's
death their mistress would return to Alexandria, where
they would not be in constant peril from the Indians, mur-
dered John Lewis, and secreted his body, which was at
last found by following his faithful dog. His son, Sam-
uel, came to Woodford county, Kentucky, and in this state
married one of the daughters of the brave General Whit-
ley. His daughter, Eliza, first married John Luke, of
Alexandria, bywhomshe had a number of children. After
liis death, she married the gallant Major James V. Ball,
who fought so well at Mississinewa, and afterward at
Lundy's Lane, lie was promoted to a colonelcy in the
regular army, and died in command of the post at Baton
Rouge. His impoverished widow came to Kentucky, was
The McDowells. 107
befriended by John J. Crittenden, and, while at Frankfort,
met and married, as her third husband, Alexander K. Mar-
shall. By him .she had no children.
The oldest son of Alexander K. Marshall and Mary Mc-
Dowell, Charles Thomas, was horn July 14, 1800, and lived
and died on his handsome patrimonial estate in Mason
county — an unambitious but sensible man, whose amiable
temper, manliness, and sterling integrity made him a gen-
eral favorite. He married his step-sister, Jane Luke, and had
by her a family of four sons, Dr. Samuel L., Edward, Alex-
ander K., and James: and a daughter, Eliza, who married
her cousin, George "W. Anderson, a colonel of Union vol-
unteers and a congressman from Missouri. James K. Mar-
shall, the second son of Alexander Iv. Marshall and MaryMc-
Dowell, married Catherine Calloway Hickman, a daughter
of the late John L. Hickman, who represented Bourbon
county frequently in both branches of the state legislature,
and was a prominent citizen. John L., son of James K.
Marshall, was an officer in the Confederate army. Bettie,
daughter of James K. Marshall, married her handsome
cousin, Henry, son of Charles S. Buford by his Adair wife;
H. Marshall Buford, judge of the court of common pleas
in the Lexington district, is her son.
Maria, oldest daughter of Alexander Iv. Marshall, was
born in Mason county, Kentucky, July 20, 1795. In her
beautiful girlhood, before she had attained the age of six-
teen years, on the 2d of May, 1811, she married her kins-
man, James Alexander Paxton, a man who was as gifted
mentally as he was handsome in person, as brave as he was
amiable. The Paxtons were among the earliest of the set-
tlers of Rockbridge, of the same Scotch-Irish race as the
McDowells, McClungs, Stuarts, Lyles, and Houstons, with
whom their descendants have so frequently intermarried.
Speaking of the Paxtons, General Alexander II. H. Stuart
pronounced them to be the most gallant and the proudest
of all the families in the Valley. Their names will be
found figuring abundantly and conspicuously among the
soldiers who fought in every war from 17.")."); they occur
as frequently in the lists of Presbyterian members, elders,
108 Historic Families of Kentucky.
and ministers, and on the rolls of able Lawyers. One of
them. John Paxton, was probably born in [reland, came
from Pennsylvania to Rockbridge, and there married
Martini Blair. Their son, also named John Paxton, was
a captain in the Revolution, and died from the effects
of a wound received at Guilford Court-house; he married
Phoebe, daughter of Captain John Alexander; his son,
John, emigrated to Lincoln county, Kentucky, married
there Elizabeth Logan, and Left a large family; the other
posterity of the second John are # scattered from the Valley
to the Pacific slope.
James Paxton, the fourth soil of the first John and
Martha Blair, was also a soldier of the Revolution, and
was accidentally shot by a companion with whom he w r as
hunting. He married Phoebe McClung, one of the daugh-
ters of John McClung and Elizabeth Alexander, who were
also the parents of Judge William McClung, of Kentucky.
John McClung was the brother of Mary, the wife of Judge
Samuel McDowell ; his wife, Elizabeth Alexander, was the
sister of the father of the distinguished Dr. Archibald Al-
exander, of Princeton. Judge William McClung, brother
of James Paxton's wife, married Susan Marshall, and was
the father of the distinguished orator, lawyer, statesman,
and divine, John Alexander McClung, and of Colonel Al-
exander Keith McClung, of Mississippi. James Paxton
and Phoebe McClung had but one child, .lames Alexander
Paxton, who married Maria Marshall. Isabella Paxton,
daughter of John Paxton and Martha Blair, married Cap-
tain Lyle, a Revolutionary officer, and was the mother of
Mary Paxton Lyle, who became the wife of Colonel James
McDowell ; it was from her that Isabella McDowell, who
married Dr. John P. Campbell, derived her given name.
Elizabeth, another daughter of John Paxton and Martha
Blair, married Major Samuel Houston, of the Revolution,
and was the mother of Sam. Houston, distinguished as the
President of Texas, as a senator of the United States, and
by the patriotic stand he made for the Union. IS"o more
pleasant task could be found than to follow this gallant
race through all its ramifications, and note the same char-
The McDowells. 109
acteristics of honor, chivalry, talent, and patriotism dis-
playing itself in every generation, in all sections of the
South and West, in all the professions, and under many
names — Carnthers, Lyle, Cnmmings, Barclay, McClung,
Stuart, Houston, Greenlee, Alexander, Davidson, Grigshy,
Blair, Campbell, Pickett, McDowell, and others. But this
sketch must he confined to a single line. After James
Paxton had been killed, his widow married Colonel Moore,
ami removed with him to Kentucky, bringing her son by
James Paxton with her. When a youth of sixteen, James
Alexander Paxton came to Mason county, and continued
his studies while residing in the family of his uncle, Judge
William McClung. Acquiring an excellent English and
classical education, under the instruction of his uncle and
of Mr. Marshall, he became also a well-read and disci-
plined lawyer. Upon this firm foundation, his strong
mind and brilliant talents built a fair and seemly super-
structure. For years be stood at the head of the bar in
Northern Kentucky; the favorite of every social circle; a
charming companion, and ;i faithful friend. Volunteering
as a private soldier in the company of Captain Bayless, in
1812, he served as an aide to Shelby at the battle of the
Thames. He died in 1825, in the prime of his manhood.
His oldest son, A. Marshall Paxton, was a successful mer-
chant in Cincinnati; married a daughter of Philip Bush,
and left a daughter, Lydia, who married Frank Blackburn,
and lives in Missouri.
His second son, William M. Paxton, has been successful
as a lawyer and business man in Platte City, Missouri, —
one of the truest and best of men, to whose valuable ac-
count of the " Marshall Family," this sketch is indebted
for many of its facts and dates. He married Mary For-
ma n.
Mary, the oldest daughter of James A. Paxton, married
Benjamin Harbeson, a Pennsylvania!! by birth, of Scotch
descent; a man who loved the truth for its own sake, and,
never forgetting what was due to his own honor, and ever
true to that sense, and to his own convictions, was to oth-
ers always faithful. Remarkable for his intuitive percep-
110 Historic Families of Kentucky.
tion of character, he never formed an unworthy friend-
ship, nor lost a man to whom he had once held that rela-
tion. Lenient and charitable in his judgment of faults
which grow out of fallen human nature, words could not
express his detestation for meanness or duplicity. His
head was large, his hair black and curling, his eves large,
black and sparkling, his face intelligent and singularly
handsome, and his form that of an athlete. The world
contains but few such men as Ben. Harbeson. And his
wife was one of the good women of the state, as bright
and intelligent as she was handsome and noble in appear-
ance. In 1840, Mr. Harbeson represented Fleming county
in the legislature. His son, John M. Harbeson, is a pros-
perous banker at Augusta, Kentucky. He married Miss
Fannie Metcalfe, a relative of the governor of that name,
and has two sons and three daughters. Mr. Harbeson is
a mingled likeness of both his parents, possessing many of
the best traits of both, along with their handsome feat-
ures. James P. Harbeson, is another son of Benjamin
Harbeson and Mary Paxton. He was a captain in the Six-
teenth Kentucky Union Infantry, and was promoted to
the rank of major for good conduct. A graduate of the
Louisville Law School, he was, for some years, the law
partner of the able Judge Thomas A. Marshall, who held
his capacity in the highest esteem. Appointed judge of
the Louisville city court, he discharged the duties of the
position with an ability, impartiality and courtesy that
elicited general plaudits. Removing from Louisville to
Flemingsburg, In- has gained a fast hold upon the affec-
tions and esteem of the community. His native talents
and ability are equal to his ambition. He first married
Mrs. Shreve, by whom he had one son; and, secondly,
Alice Andrews, by whom he has five children. The last
wife' is a great-niece of John and L. \V . Andrews, who
married, respectively, a daughter and a granddaughter of
Colonel James McDowell. William 1*., youngest son of
Benjamin Harbeson, married Miss Harris, is a farmer, and
lives in Fleming county. Mary, the only daughter of
Benjamin Harbeson, married 1). M. Wilson, and lives on a
cattle ranch in Texas.
The McDowells. Ill
The second daughter of James Alexander Paxton and
Maria Marshall, Phoebe A., married her cousin, Charles
A. Marshall, who is the youngest son of Captain Thomas
Marshall and Frances Kennan. Captain Thomas Mar-
shall was the second son of Colonel Thomas Marshal 1,
and an elder brother of Alexander K. Marshall. Frances
Kennan was a sister of the celebrated pioneer and In-
dian fighter, William Kennan. Mr. Marshall was edu-
cated at the academy of his uncle, Dr. Louis Mar-
shall, in Woodford county. He is a fine classical scholar;
few men have so extensive an acquaintance with his-
tory, or understand so well its teachings. A farmer all
his life, he was thrice elected to the legislature from his
native county of Mason — honors by him unsolicited.
More than fifty years old at the outbreak of the civil war,
he recruited the Sixteenth Kentucky Infantry, accepted
its colonelcy, led the advance in Nelson's campaign in
Eastern Kentucky, in 186L, held the post of honor — the
front — at the battle of Ivy Mountain, where his command
bore the brunt of the fight, suffered all the loss, and did
nearly all the execution. In that engagement, he acquit-
ted himself with a cool courage which reflected honor
upon his name and the cause he served, worthy of the
reputation he had borne since boyhood for the most
knightly chivalry. Compelled, by disease, to leave the
service in 1862, he carried with him the love of every sol-
dier of his command, and continued to the end of the
struggle an unflinching friend of the Union. When pos-
sessed of power, he did not abuse his authority, hut used
it beneficently in the maintenance of law, and in protect-
ing every citizen in the rights of person and property, and
in the enjoyment of liberty. Kentucky never had a son
who, without going out of his way to court popularity,
yet enjoys the respect, confidence and esteem of the peo-
ple more thoroughly and completely than does Colonel
Marshall. His oldest son, Thomas Marshall, has had an
exceptionally successful and brilliant career as a lawyer at
Salt Lake City; his wife was Miss Sallie Hughes.
His second son, William Louis Marshall, left school to
112 Historic Families of Kentucky.
volunteer as a private soldier in the Tenth Kentucky
Union Cavalry, in 1S(>2, at sixteen years of age; was soon
transferred to the staff' of General Green (May Smith, and
served until September, 1863; was appointed to the Mili-
tary Academy at West Point, which he entered in July,
1864, and from which, four years later, he graduated with
distinguished honor; was for several years a valued in-
structor at West Point; placed in charge of the Colorado
section of the United States Exploring Expedition, he dis-
covered the pass that hears his name, and is now used by
the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, and also the gold
placers on the San Miguel river, in the basin named in his
honor; was the engineer in charge of the improvements
of the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers; and later was
placed in charge of the improvements of the harbors of
the western lakes. His rank is deservedly high in the
branch of the service to which he was assigned — the corps
of engineers. His commission as captain dates from 1882.
Herculean in form and strength, essentially soldierly in
bearing and appearance, one of the most cultivated and
able of his generation of the family whose name he bears,
Captain Marshall unites the frankness, the courage, the
scholarly attainments, and best intellectual qualities of the
families of Marshall, Paxton, McClung, McDowell, and
Alexander. In 1885, he married a daughter of Senator
Colquitt, of Georgia. They have one child. The third
and fourth sons of Colonel Charles A. Marshall and
Phoebe A. Paxton, James Paxton and Ben. Harbeson, are
farmers in Mason county — both worthy men. Colonel
Marshall has three married daughters — Elizabeth, married
to Rev. Maurice Waller, of the Presbyterian Church;
Lucy Coleman, to John G. Bentley, a soldier in the Con-
federate army from the beginning to the close of the war,
a graduate of Roanoke College, and a man of education;
and Sallie, to Edmund Wilkes, Jr., a grandson of the dis-
tinguished commodore of that name.
Lucy, second daughter of Alexander K. Marshall and
Mary McDowell, born in 1796, married, in 1818, her cousin,
John Marshall, a son of Captain Thomas, and an elder
The McDowells. 113
brother of Colonel Charles A. 'Marshall — a man of strong
intellect and a fine scholar, bnt without ambition. The
late Dr. Alexander K. Marshall, John Marshall, and James
T. Marshall were his sons ; the first wife of F. T. Cham-
bers, the wife of James B. Casey, of Covington, and Miss
Mary M. Marshall, were his daughters. Dr. Marshall died
childless, James has no issue, and John never married.
His posterity will die out in the male line. Mrs. Cham-
bers left one son, who is married, and without issue. Mrs.
Casey had many children.
Jane, the youngest daughter of Alexander K. Marshall
and Mary McDowell, was born in 1808, and married, in Co-
lumbus, Ohio, in 1824, William Starling Sullivant, an elder
brother of Michael Sullivant, who married a daughter of
Colonel Joseph McDowell, of Danville, as well as of Joseph
Sullivant, who first married a sister of his brother Michael's
wife, and then Lucinda Brashears, a granddaughter of
Judge AVilliam McDowell. These brothers were the sons
of Lucas Sullivant, a man of great energy and strength of
character, who was one of the most enterprising and use-
ful of the pioneers of Ohio. Their mother was Sa-
rah, second daughter of William Starling and Susannah
Lyne, and a sister of the William Starling who married
a daughter of Samuel McDowell, of Mercer. Born in
Franklinton, Ohio, in 1803, when the surrounding country
that was not covered with the unbroken primeval forest
was an almost uninhabited prairie, the infancy and boy-
hood of AVilliam S. Sullivant were passed amidst scenes
well calculated to teach the lessons of hardy endurance.
He grew up strong in body and vigorous in mind, grace-
ful in person, and handsome in countenance. His thor-
ough education was obtained at Athens, Ohio, and at
Yale, from which latter institution he graduated in 1823.
The death of his father in that year devolving upon him
the care of an immense landed estate, he did not study a
profession, for which the eminence of his talents, the ex-
tent of his attainments, and his fine presence and man-
ners, were so admirably adapted. Yet, immersed in affairs
8
114 Historic Families of Kentucky.
of business as he was at the outset of life, and continued
to be while it lusted, he found a field for liis elegant
tastes and scientific research in the study of botany. His
uumerous published works are standards in Europe as
well as in America. A more detailed account of the use-
ful life and public services of Mr. Sullivant will be found
in the memorial published by bis brother. His first wife,
.lane Marshall, died in 1825, leaving an infant daughter,
Jane, a beautiful woman, who married Robert E. Neil, of
Columbus, Ohio. The oldest daughter of Robert E. Neil
and Jane Marshall Sullivant married Colonel T. A. Dodge,
of Massachusetts, a graduate of the University of London,
a colonel in the Union service, who left an arm at Gettys-
burg. Their second daughter, Lucy Neil, married Major
W. W. Williams, a naval officer, who won his military
title while serving with the bind forces of the Union dur-
ing the war. For gallant conduct in command of a gun-
boat before Newbern, North Carolina, he received deserved
promotion. The naval service of the country has no bet-
ter officer.
In this account of a numerous and historic race, noth-
ing more lias been attempted than a general grouping ot
some of its most prominent members, with a cursory
glance at the leading incidents of their public lives. It
has been pleasant to trace the same mental attributes,
kindred physical characteristics, and similar patriotic im-
pulses, as they seem to have run through the wmole breed.
To a theme so prolific, a history so suggestive, it has been
possible to do but the scantiest justice. The hundreds
of true men and noble women who have been barely
named, or passed by in silence, will generously attribute
the omission to want of information, or to the necessity of
placing some limit upon the number of these pages. The
naming of any family that has supplied a greater number
of, or better, soldiers, or so large a number of, or more skill-
ful, physicians and surgeons, may be safely challenged. In
this country, the family had its origin in those who fought
beyond the seas to overthrow the "divine right of kings,"
and to establish constitutional government. Here, in
The McDowells. 115
every war since John McDowell lost his life, in 1742, their
blood has been freely offered in defense of liberty regu-
lated by law — in the French and Indian, Dunmore's, Rev-
olution, War of 1812, with Mexico; while, in the recent
civil Avar, without numbering other descendants of old
Ephraim who fought on one side or the other, as God
gave them to see the right, those of Judge Samuel Mc-
Dowell alone were more than a hundred. They have
worthily filled all grades in the military service, from that
of the private soldier in the trenches to that of the major-
general in command of the armies of the republic. They
have taken prominent parts in the erection, and in shaping
the organic laws, of states — of Virginia, Kentucky, and
others. They have honorably tilled and ably discharged
the duties of every executive office in those states, from
the mayor of a city, or the sheriff of a county, to the gov-
ernorship of the commonwealth: every legislative office
in the gift of the people, from that of the trustee of a
town, or the member of a council, to that of a senator of
the United States; every judicial office, from that of a jus-
tice of the peace to that of judge of a United States court.
While not one of them is known to the writer of whom
anyone need be ashamed, their alliances in every direc-
tion have been with the most eminently respectable — in
many instances, with the most illustrious. In its various
ramifications, members of the family have not only the
same blood as that of governors, congressmen, senators,
judges, chief-justices, generals — almost without number —
but of that of four of the presidents of the United States,
Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Taylor. Eminently
calm, thoughtful, and conservative, their influence has
been uniformly given to the maintenance of law, the pro-
motion jOf education, and generally to the inculcation of
the sound principles of revealed religion. The beneficent
influence which such a race, when united and zealously
co-operating one with another, can exercise — do exercise
and have exerted — over communities in which their lot
may be cast, can not be overestimated. They have been as
modest as they have been brave ; and, while other families
116 Historic Families of Kentucky.
may not have been deficient in either of these qualities, their
worth has been a compound of both. In the history of
the race, there may be observed a singular uniformity in
their leading traits. Men of great self-reliance and in-
tegrity, they have been unostentatious and without social
ambition, as if their sturdy personal independence dis-
dained the support of fictitious social prestige. Men of
this type seldom grow rich, and rarely appear in the news-
papers ; but in their localities are always esteemed as solid
men — citizens to be trusted, friends to rely upon, and ene-
mies to be respected.
The Logans. 117
THE LOGANS.
Than that of Logan there are in Scotland few surnames
more ancient. As early as 1278, it appears in the royal
charters. In 1829, a knight named Robert Logan was in
the train of barons who bore the heart of Bruce to the
Holy Land, and in the battle with the Moors in Spain, in
which the "Good" Sir James Douglas was slain, a Sir
Walter Logan lost his life. In the reign of the Bruce, the
principal family of the name obtained by marriage the
barony of Restalrig, lying between Edinburg and the sea,
on which the greater part of South Leith is now built.
To such a height did this family attain, that Sir Robert
Logan, of Restalrig, married a daughter of Robert II., by
Euphemia Ross, and afterward was constituted Admiral of
' Scotland. This family was destined to a mighty fall. The
last Logan w T ho was baron of Restalrig, and who sold it to
Balmerino, — Sir Robert — was engaged in the Gowrie con-
spiracy against the timid James VI.; and after his death, in
1606, his bones were exhumed, and a sentence of outlawry
pronounced against him, whereby his lands of Fast Castle,
obtained by marriage, were forfeited and lost to his family.
Even the name was proscribed, so that many who bore it
assumed other surnames. Then there was an ancient
Celtic clan of the name, one of whose chiefs married a
Fraser, and in a feud with the family of his wife was slain,
with most of his clansmen. Another branch lived in
Ayrshire, and was designed as "of Logan." — [Scottish
Nation.'] The family which is the subject of this sketch
can not be definitely traced to any of those which have
been mentioned, nor, if possessed of record evidence to do
so, would they esteem it as adding to their worth to estab-
lish the connection. For generations before any of them
came to America, they had been plain people in Ireland,
accustomed to rely upon themselves for their individual
respectability as well as for the means of subsistence, and
118 Historic Families of Kentucky.
were sturdily independent. Their tradition is, that their
ancestor was a Presbyterian who fled from Ayrshire to
escape the persecutions of John G-rahame, the Bloody
Claverhouse, and, with others of his name and kindred,
found shelter and refuge among tlie Protestant plantations
in the North of Ireland. Lurgan was the locality of his
home. In the following years, descendants of this one
found their way to Pennsylvania, whose colonial treasurer,
James Logan, for whom the Mingo chief was named, was,
in no distant degree, their kinsman. Two of these, James
and David Logan, soon left Pennsylvania, and settled in
Augusta county. They were very nearly related; it is be-
lieved they were brothers. They were both young when
they went to Virginia, and both were soldiers in the
French and Indian wars; their names appear upon the
official lists. James settled near the new Providence
Church, in what is now Rockbridge county. He had a
son, also named James, who married Hannah Irvine, the
daughter of a Presbyterian preacher, by whom he had
eight sons and four daughters. One of these sons, John
Logan, married Rachel McPheeters, a daughter of the
"Wm. McPheeters who married Rachel Moore, and a sister
of Rev. "Wm. McPheeters, whose first wife was a daughter
of Major John McDowell, of Payette county. This John
Logan and Rachel McPheeters were the parents of Rev.
Eusebius Logan, who died in 1827; of Rev. Robert Lo-
gan, of Fort Worth, Texas; of Joseph Logan and the
late Mrs. Theophilus Gamble, of Augusta county. Alex-
ander Logan, another son of James and Hannah, moved
to Kentucky: one of Alexander's sons, a Presbyterian
minister, married a Miss Venahle, of Shelby comity, and
Rev. James Venahle Logan, of Central University, is their
son. Robert Logan, a third son of James and Hannah,
was a Presbyterian minister. Rev. Robert Logan had the
refusal of the tutorship in Hampden Sidney College when
the celebrated John Holt Rice applied for it. He was
was horn in Augusta, in 1769; was educated at Liberty
Hall: he visited Kentucky.and while here married Marga-
The Logans. 119
ret Moore, from Walker's Creek, Augusta county, Virginia.
She came from the same Rutherford- Walker stock which
gave to this country, and to the Presbyterian Church, Dr.
John Poage Campbell, the McPheeters, the Browns (de-
scendants of Rev. Samuel), the Stuarts, and so many other
pious and able divines. Rev. Robert Logan returned to
Virginia, and finally settled in Fincastle county, where he
was for many years the frontier minister. The late John
B. I. Logan, of Salem, Roanoke county, was his son. Jo-
seph D. Logan, a fourth son of James and Hannah, was
another Presbyterian minister, and one of distinction ; he
married Jane Butler Dandridge, a descendant in the sixth
generation of Pocahontas, and of the family from which
came the wife of President Washington; their son, James
W. Logan, married Miss S. W. Strother. After the death
of his first wife, Rev. Jos. D. Logan married Louisa Lee,
one of whose children is Dr. Joseph P. Logan, of Atlanta,
Georgia. Ben. Logan, a fifth son of James and Hannah,
was the father of the late J. A. Logan, of Staunton. One
of the daughters of James and Hannah was the wife of
Mc'Kinney, the pioneer school teacher at Lexington, whose
bloody encounter with the wild-cat is related by McClnng.
The preaching characteristics of the Irvines, as well as of
the Rutherfords, Walkers, Moores, McPheeters, seem to
have come out strong in this branch of the Logan family. —
[WaddeVs Annals^]
David Logan, the other of these two emigrant brothers,
married, when young, in Pennsylvania. He probably
went to Virginia early in 1 740. On the 22d of May, of
that year, fourteen heads of families appeared at the
Orange Court-house (Augusta county not having been
then established, and the territory being embraced in that
of Orange) to "[trove their' importation." The first of
these was Alexander Breckinridge, who made oath that
he had imported "himself, and John, George, Robert,
Smith, and Letitia Breckinridge, from Ireland to Phila-
delphia, and from thence to this colony, at his own
charges, and this is the first time of his proving his and
120 Historic Families of Kentucky.
their rights in order to obtain land." The third to make
similar oath was John Trimble, from whom came a con-
spicuous posterity. The eighth was David Logan, and
from the record it is ascertained that the given name of
his wife was Jane. The thirteenth was James Caldwell,
possibly the ancestor of John C. Calhoun. John Preston
came into court with Breckinridge, Logan, and others,
but postponed proving his importation until 1740. — [Wad-
dd.~\ The record of Rev. John Craig, the first Presby-
terian minister in the Valley, shows that on May 3, 1743,
he baptized Benjamin, child of David Logan, and that on
March 24, 1745, he baptized David Logan's son, Hugh.
Thus are the ages of these two brothers approximated.
Iu 1763, the mother of Benjamin Logan, and widow of
David, lived on Kerr's creek. This Jane Logan became
the fruitful mother of six children, of whom the writer
has knowledge, .possibly of others; the sons were Benja-
min, John, Hugh, and Nathaniel ; the daughters were
Mary and Sarah. The emigrant died early, leaving a
modest but independent estate to the widow and his off-
spring, the eldest of whom was but fourteen; but be-
queathing them also the priceless inheritance of vigorous
intellects in robust bodies, well trained in the principles
of morality and religion, self-reliance, fearlessness, and
indomitable energy.
General Ben. Logan.
The father dying intestate, the lands descended to Ben-
jamin, the oldest son, the law of primogeniture then pre-
vailing in the colony; but with a disinterestedness of
temper which continued to be the characteristic of an
eventful life, on arriving at years of maturity, and with
the consent of the mother, to whom he was ever an affec-
tionate and dutiful son, he sold the lands, which were not
susceptible of division, and distributed the proceeds among
those whom the law had disinherited in his favor. Then,
to provide for his remaining parent a home not less com-
fortable than that with which they had parted, he united
The Logans. 121
his own share to that of one of his brothers, and, with the
joint stock, purchased a fine farm on the rich bottoms of
one of the forks of the James river, securing it to their
mother during her life, or so long as she might choose to
reside thereon, with the remainder in fee-simple to the
brother. Thus early in evidences of filial piety was de-
veloped that nobleness of nature and devotion to duty
whicli marked his entire subsequent life, and made honor-
able the name he left to those who came after. The sur-
roundings of a newly-settled country were not favorable
to the education of the children of those in circumstances
as limited as those of his lather; nor did the widowed
mother have it in her power to bestow upon him more
than a very imperfect knowledge of the rudiments. With-
out the slightest knowledge of science or the classics, his
mind was almost unaided by letters; destitute of literary
attainments, he was compelled to study men rather than
books; buthe had been early imbued with the principles
and practice of a sound morality and Christian piety, and
had cultivated the qualities of fortitude, endurance, self-
sacrifice, and became capable of high resolve. In 1764, at
the age of twenty-one years, in tire capacity of a sergeant
of Virginia volunteers, he accompanied the expedition
commanded by Colonel Henry Bouquet against the Indians
of Ohio, and there, in leading the advance, saw his first
military service. This able and enterprising Swiss had, in
the service of Sardinia, distinguished himself in the battle
of Cony, where, " being ordered to occupy a piece of groiind
at the brink of a precipice, he led his men thither in such
a way that not one of them saw that they were within two
steps of destruction should the enemy force the position.
Meanwhile, calmly watching the movements of both
armies, he made his soldiers observe, in order to distract
their attention, that these movements could be seen much
better by the light of the moon than in broad daylight." —
\_Dumas^\ Afterward, entering into the service of the
Prince of Orange, he carefully studied the science of war,
especially those branches of mathematics which are the
foundation of the military art. From this service, passing
L22 Historic Families of Kentucky.
into that of Great Britain, he was placed in command of
one of the battalions of "The Royal American Reo-i-
ments" which shared the dangers of the War of 1755.
The peace with the French in 1762 was immediately fol-
lowed by the great Indian war under the leadership of the
renowned Pontiac, in which the Shawanese, Delawares,
Wyandottes, and other tribes of the North-west, leagued
together, captured from the English all the smaller posts
of the interior, beleaguered Detroit and Fort Pitt, and
swept with tire, rapine, and murder the frontiers of Penn-
sylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Ordered to the relief
of Fort Pitt, Bouquet successfully accomplished his mis-
sion, and in August, 1763, defeated the Indians at Bushy
Run. It was under this veteran commander that Benja-
min Logan began his military career, and received his first
lessons in savage warfare. The spring ot 1764 witnessed
a renewal of Indian atrocities, and to ehastise the tribes
between the Ohio and the lakes was the object of Colonel
Bouquet's expedition into their territory. The Virginians
who res} ion ded to the call met the force at Pittsburg, and
were at once placed in the front. In all the trials, dan-
gers, and triumphs of the expedition, which was com-
pletely successful, Benjamin Logan shared. He was pres-
ent at the "talk" given by the chiefs of the Delawares
and Shawanese — Castaloga, Beaver, Turtle Heart, and
Kiyashuta — to Colonel Bouquet, on the banks of the Mus-
kingum, in October, 1704, and in November of that year,
at the forks of the same stream, witnessed the delivery by
the Indians of the captives, women and children, whom
they had taken in their various raids and spared from
massacre and torture.
Returning from this task of public duty, and having
seen his mother and family comfortably settled in their
new home, he struck out for the Holston, there to provide
ami build another for himself, buying land near where the
nourishing town of Abingdon now stands, which he im-
proved ; and. being alike shrewd, thrifty, economical, and
industrious, rapidly enlarged and added to his fertile farm.
It would be an injustice to the character of the man to
The Logans. 123
permit it to be supposed that the years passed upon the
Holston were engrossed by these exertions to improve his
own fortune, in repairing the estate nearly the whole of
which he had surrendered with a magnanimity seldom
equalled, or in the advancement of material interests of
any kind. On an exposed frontier as he was, there still
was time to think of the religion he had inherited, for
which his ancestors had suffered. One of the first set-
tlers upon the Holston, an emigration which was com-
menced in 1765, his name is found fifth upon the list of the
signers to the call upon the Rev. Charles Cummings to be-
come the pastor of the united congregations of Ebbing and
Sinking Springs, in Fincastle county. The call, which was
presented to Mr. Cummings •• at the Presbytery of Hanover,
when sitting at the Tinkling Spring," recites the spiritual
destitution of the hardy pioneers, and the yearnings they
experienced for the consolations of tic Word and the ad-
ministration of divine ordinances. These were the first
organizations there organized, Mr. Cummings the first
minister in all that then distant region. Associated with
Logan in this call, are the historic names of Trimble, of
the McClures, Montgomery s, Casey, Huston, Craig, the
Gambles, Breckinridge, the Buchanans, Sam. Briggs, of
Colonel William Christian, and John Campbell — Presby-
terians, religious and heroic soldiers whose qualities were
exhibited at Point Pleasant, King's Mountain, Guilford,
and on other fields of the Revolution. Such were the as-
sociates of his youth, the friends of his manhood. The
men of these congregations " never went to church with-
out being armed, and taking their families with them.
On Sabbath morning, during this period, it was Mr. Cum-
mings' custom, for he was always a wry neat man in his
dress, to dress himself, then put on his shot-pouch,
shoulder his rifle, mount his dun stallion, and ride off
to church. There he met his gallant and intelligent con-
gregation, each man with his rifle in his hand. When
seated in the meeting-honse, they presented altogether a
most solemn and singular spectacle. Mr. Cummings' uni-
form habit, before entering the house, was to take a short
124 Historic Families of Kentucky.
walk alone while the congregation were seating them-
selves; he would then return, at the door hold a few-
words of conversation with some one of the elders of
the church, then would walk gravely through this crowd,
mount the steps of the pulpit, deposit his rifle in a
corner near him, lay off his shot-pouch, and commence
the solemn worship of the day. Ife would preach two
sermons, having a short interval between them, and
go home." — [Foote.~] Such were the lessons by which
Logan and his kindred were imbued — where the re-
ligious and the military spirit went hand in hand; such
the scenes amidst which their characters were formed,
broadened, and heightened. There he met with bonny
Anne Montgomery, the daughter of one of his neighbors
of the Scotch-Irish Presbyterian race, escorted her home
from these martial-religious exercises, whispered into her
willing ears the tender words of love even while his hand
grasped the rifle, ami. as the years rolled by, w T on and
married her. In 1774, not long after his marriage, hos-
tilities were renewed by the Shawanese, Wyandottes, Dela-
wares, Mingoes, Miamis, Tawas, and other tribes, who had
been incensed by the murders perpetrated by Cresap, and
had determined to make a last desperate effort to stay the
advancing strides of the all-concpuering and all-grasping
white man. Among those from the Holston who sprang
to arms, in response to the call of Lord Dunmore, w T ere
Captain Benjamin Logan and the company of brave
veterans who had chosen him as their leader. The state-
ment that he had fought at Point Pleasant, where fell the
noble Lewis, the experienced Field, and the Aliens true,
is an error. Commanded to join the division at Fort Pitt
under the immediate command of Lord Dunmore, he, with
George Rogers Clarke, Sam. McCullough, Kenton, the
unlucky Win. Crawford, and others, continued with that
body in its march through Ohio, and lost the distinction
and glory of fighting by the side of Fleming, the Shelbys,
McDowell, Campbell, and the Lewises, in the desperate
struggle in which the painted braves of the eloquent Corn-
stalk were beaten hack. Prior to this, he had been con-
The Logans. 125
spieuous in repelling the forays and keeping in subjection
the warlike Cherokees and other Indians of the South.
Returning to the Holston, his imagination was tired, his
hopes of adding to his fortune stimulated, and his ambi-
tion set aglow, by the accounts brought back by the ex-
plorers and hunters of the magnificent forests, the dense
canebrakes, the luxuriant pastures, and the fat and sightly
lands of the then newly-discovered country beyond the
mountains, and watered by the beautiful Ohio. Early in
1775, he set out to see for himself, and to make a settle-
ment, unaccompanied save by several attached slaves.
Soon falling in with Boone, Henderson, and other adven-
turers, journeying with a similar purpose, he united him-
self to their party, and with them passed along the line of
the Old Wilderness road for some distance into Kentucky;
then, diverging from them, struck out alone in a westerly
direction, pursuing it for a few days, until, charmed with
the beauty of the scene, in which the rosiest visions of his
dreams . seemed crystallized in the landscape, he pitched
his tent near the present town of Stanford. John Mason
Brown, in his oration at the centennial celebration of the
battle of the Blue Licks, asserts that John Todd, " in the
early spring of 1775, joined Ben. Logan in the establish-
ment of St. Asaphs' station." Mr. Hixson has in his pos-
session letters (which will be published with his forth-
coming carefully-prepared work on Mason county) which
lead him to the conclusion that the enchanting scene had
been visited by the " Long Hunters," under James Knox,
and that the latter had acquired some claim to the site
before the foot of Logan pressed the flowers that grew
upon the land; and that John Floyd and John Todd were
there before Logan. Whether Logan first made the set-
tlement, as the historians generally assert, or whether he
passed on, acquired lands in what is now Jefferson, and
quickly exchanged them with Knox for the tract at St.
Asaphs which had so pleased his eye and delighted his
fancy, does not matter. At St. Asaphs, he made his per-
manent settlement, the third made in Kentucky — those of
Boone, at Boonesboro, and of Harrod, at Harrodsburg,
126 Historic Families of Kentucky.
having had a brief precedence — and there he built the fort
which is known in history as St. Asaphs. There, with
William Gillespie, he planted and raised a small crop of
corn during the same year; and, after marking out loca-
tions in the surrounding country for Lis kindred and con-
nexions, returned alone, during the summer, to the Hol-
ston. to spur them to the enterprise, and support them on
the way. That fall, lie brought to Kentucky his remain-
ing slaves, and all bis cattle, which leaving in the charge
of Gillespie, he once more went back, unaccompanied, to
the Holston to remove his family, which was done shortly
thereafter — in the beginning of 1776, as the histories state.
In the following years, came his brothers and sisters, the
family of his wife, and numerous friends and connexions,
to occupy and build new homes upon the lands he had de-
signed for them, finding shelter and refuge within the
hospitable and protecting walls of the fort he so stoutly
held, and around which they clustered. The date of his
arrival with his wife, and infant son, David, at St. Asaphs,
is stated by Marshall as the 8th of March, 1776. Ren-
dered desperate by the settlement of the "Long Knives"
upon their bunting lands, during the ensuing summer the
Indians swarmed through the woods, and lurked behind
every tree and bush. After vainly endeavoring to induce
the scattering settlers in the neighborhood of Crab Or-
chard to make a stand and rallying point at his cabins,
Logan found safety for his loved ones behind the walls of
the fort at Harrodsburg, where went also those who had
refused to join him; then, insensible to fear, he returned
to his location, and, with his slaves, planted and gathered
his grain, and continued his clearings. His wife and son
returned to him early in 1777, by which time he had
constructed a stronghold behind which to place them.
Thenceforward, his history is that of the territory he
helped to subdue and wrest from the savage, of the state
among whose founders he was one of the most conspicu-
ous. A tall, athletic, contemplative, well-balanced, and
dignified figure, distinguished his person and appearance.
He was taciturn — the statesman's eye was crowned in him
The Logans. 127
with the warrior's brow; while a countenance, which
evinced an unyielding fortitude and an impenetrable
guard, invited to a confidence which was never betrayed.
Such is the description given of him by one of his con-
temporaries, the first historian of Kentucky, who did not
like him any too well.
On the 20th of May, 1777, this fort, which he had named
St. Asaphs, and which had become the place of refuge for
all the neighboring settlers, was regularly besieged by the
Indians, more than a hundred in number, the most deter-
mined investment ever executed by Indian hostility, and
sustained with unabated ferocity and vigilance for weeks,
during which the heroic characteristics of the commander
of the little garrison were signally illustrated. On the
morning before the siege was formally commenced, the In-
dians found the women belonging to the fort milking outside
the gates, attended by a small guard of men, upon whom
they fired from their ambush in a canebrake, killing one,
mortally wounding another, and disabling a third, named
Harrison, who fell outside in the sight of his frantic wife.
In vain Logan appealed to his men to accompany him in a
desperate sally to rescue their wounded comrade. John
Martin alone consented, who, after rushing from the fort
with Logan, shrank from the appalling peril confronting
him, and sprang back again. The undaunted Logan
dashed on alone, raised in his arms the wounded man,
placed him on his shoulders, and, amidst the bullets which
whistled and sang around them, reached the fort with his
grateful burden, unharmed. The fort was defended not
less vigorously than it was obstinately assailed, until the
ammunition commenced to fail. On the distant Holston
were supplies, but who would bring them? The courage
of Logan was equal to all emergencies. Imbuing into his
men the lofty spirit of his own soul, he left them, under
cover of the night ; shunned the ordinary roads ; flew, on
the wings of hope, and love, and duty, over valley and
mountain ; obtained the needed stores, which he intrusted
to the companions he had rallied for the rescue ; and, in
ten days from his departure, returned alone to the fort,
128 Historic Families of Kentucky.
to inspire, to re-animate the flagging- energies of his men
with hope, and instill into them his own unbending nerve.
The rescuers currying the ammunition marching rapidly,
and safely reaching the fort, the garrison, though cut off
from the world, thought themselves, with the experienced
Logan in command, capable of maintaining the defense.
The country continued to be infested by Indians, who fre-
quently appeared before the fort, enforcing the necessity
of ceaseless vigilance. The arrival of Colonel John Bow-
man with his detachment of militia, in September, brought
a sense of temporary security to the garrison of St. Asaphs.
Marshall relates that, upon the approach of Bowman, one
of his men was killed by the besieging Indians, and that
papers taken from his person were brought to Logan by
the man who found the body; Littell, that during the
siege, and before Bowman had come, one of the garrison
" ventured, early one morning, to open the gate of Logan's
station, and step out; he was immediately shot dead. An
Indian, or probably some British savage habited as an In-
dian, ran forward, took off his scalp, laid a bundle of pa-
pers on his breast, and escaped. The dead man was
brought into" the station, and Colonel Logan took the pa-
pers." Differing in this, both writers agree that Logan
did not examine the papers until he was entirely alone,
and that he found them to be a bundle of proclamations
from Sir Guy Carleton, then commander-in-chief of the
British forces in Canada. The proclamations were di-
rected to the people of Kentucky generally, and to George
Rogers Clarke and Benjamin Logan by name. These
proclamations offered protection to all who would abandon
the cause of the republic, and denounced the most terrible
vengeance against all those who refused. They drew at-
tention to the futility of expecting security against the
Indians from Virginia orthe Continental authorities; that
Britain was the only earthly power that could afford that
security ; and promising, if they would only return to
their allegiance, all the Indian nations should be with-
drawn. To the militia officers, they promised the same
rank in the regular army of Great Britain that they held
The Logans. . 129
under Virginia, and that, instead of the poor and uncer-
tain pay from the state, they should receive that accorded
to officers of the British line. Logan secreted these pa-
pers, never mentioning their contents, nor even their exist-
ence, until many years afterward, when all danger of their
possible effect upon the weak and fickle had passed away.
Bowman's party soon leaving St. Asaphs to join Clarke
at the Falls of the Ohio, the garrison was once more dis-
tressed by the want of ammunition. Again Logan went,
alone and swiftly, to the Holston, returning with the
needed supplies. Shortly after his return from this second
journey, the garrison was reinforced by the arrival of a
party led by Colonel Montgomery, who confirmed the
spirit of cheerfulness his presence had inspired. — \_Mar-
shall.~\ Montgomery also went to join Clarke. During
the several following years, Benjamin Logan was almost
constantly engaged in the active defense of his own and
other settlements. While on an exploring excursion, in
1778, a few miles from his fort he discovered an Indian
camp. Returning to St. Asaphs, he rallied his men, and
attacked and routed the savages. Shortly after this oc-
currence, being at the same place alone, he was tired upon
by Indians in ambush, his right arm was broken, and he
received a wound in the breast. The Indians, seeking to
capture him alive, forbore to kill him ; they rushed upon
him, and so nearly succeeded in accomplishing their pur-
pose, that one of them had hold of his horse's tail. — \_3Iar-
shall.~] Scarcely had his wounds healed, when his activity
was resumed, alone, or in company with others, shunning
neither hardship nor peril by which his country or his
friends could be benetited. Two years afterward, in 1780,
a party going from Harrodsburg, in the direction of St.
Asaphs, were ambushed by Indians; two were mortally
wounded, one of whom reached Logan's, and communi-
cated the disaster. With a party of young men about his
fort, Logan at once repaired to the succor of the wounded
man, whom they found in the weeds in which he had con-
cealed himself — alive, but incapable of traveling. Taking
9
130 Historic Families of Kentucky.
him upon his own broad shoulders, Logan bore the
wounded man to Harrodsburg. On tlicir return home
from Harrodsburg, his own party was tired upon by the
Indians, and one of his young companions wounded. The
Indians were repulsed with loss. Then the humanity,
fortitude, and strong arms of Logan were again called into
requisition to convey the wounded man weary miles back
to his fort. — [Marshall.^ In him, generosity, benevolence,
self-sacrifice — the developments of true natural religion —
were as characteristic as the unblenching courage which
never feared the face of man.
Benjamin Logan was second in command of Bowman's
expedition against the Ohio Indians. Leaving Harrods-
burg, in May, 1779, following the old buffalo trail to the
mouth of Limestone, then crossing the Ohio, and striking
into the interior through the gap in the northern hills
four miles below, still called by his name, the preliminary
measures concerted by Logan were so well executed that
the expeditionary force had reached within a mile of the
large Indian town of old Chillicothc without having given
the slightest alarm to their wary enemy. A halt was
made; the spies, at midnight, reported the Indians wrap-
ped in sleep and fancied security; an immediate attack
was determined. Logan was to turn to the left, with one-
half of the men, marching half way around the town ;
Bowman, at the head of the remainder, was to turn to
the right, and make a corresponding march. When the
detachments met at the opposite end of the village, which
would thus be completely surrounded, an immediate and
simultaneous attack was to be commenced. How well
Logan performed his part, is related by the graphic Mc-
Clung. Having reached his designated position, he there
awaited in vain for Colonel Bowman and the signal of at-
tack. The slow hours crawled on until daylight appeared.
Logan concealed his men in the high grass; one of them
alarmed a dog, which began to bay; a solitary Indian was
aroused, stood upon tiptoe, and peered cautiously around
him, without discovering any of Logan's men, who lay
close and silent. Suddenly a gun was tired in the opposite
The Logans. 131
end of the town by one of Bowman's men ; the Indian
run hack, and gave the alarm; the savages at once col-
lected at the council chamber, in the center of the town,
armed, and prepared for a desperate resistance. Confi-
dently expecting support from Bowman, the party of Lo-
gan, promptly rushing to the attack, took immediate pos-
session of the houses that had been abandoned by the In-
dians, and, advancing rapidly from one to another, estab-
lished themselves within close rifle-shot of the Indian re-
doubt. Nothing could be heard from Bowman ; the posi-
tion of Logan became critical; the Indians, outnumbering
him, kept up a heavy fire upon the cabins which covered
his men; he could neither advance nor retreat; while the
emboldened Indians gave evidence of a purpose to turn
both his flanks. Cut oft" from his commander, from whom
he could hear nothing, and of whose position he was ig-
norant, he determined to make a breast-work of the
planks of the cabins, under their cover to charge upon
the Indians, and, in a band-to-hand contest, to drive them
from their stronghold. Had time permitted this gallant
resolve to be put into execution, and had it been supported
by Bowman, victory was certain — not an Indian could
have escaped. While the cool and intrepid Logan was
preparing for the movement, a messenger from Bowman
brought him orders to retreat. The messenger could give
no explanation ; but these were the orders. The surprised
and disappointed Logan, yielding to the demands of mili-
tary subordination, reluctantly obeyed. The singular and
tumultuous scene that commenced was the inevitable con-
sequence of a command so bewildering. Bowman, seized
with one of those unaccountable panics to which the
bravest of men are sometimes liable, had lost his head, and
had remained exactly where Logan had left him the night
before. The Indians, as much astonished at seeing this
sudden rout as Logan had been at the disastrous order, sallied
out in quest of their human game. Bowman sat still upon
his horse, unnerved, speechless. With the aid of the gal-
lant Major George M. Bedinger, of Blue Licks, Logan re-
stored some degree of order to the retreat, but was soon
132 Historic Families of Kentucky.
surrounded on all sides by the enemy, who kept up a fatal
fire. The sound of the rifle-shots and the instincts of self-
preservation having restored the men to their senses, the
calm Logan, whom no danger ever appalled or confused,
and whose best faculties were called into action by the
exigency, formed them into a hollow square, and from be-
hind the sheltering trees returned the fire with such
deadly results as quickly repelled the attack. The retro-
grade march having recommenced, the Indians, reappear-
ing, opened a fire upon front, flanks, and rear, from be-
hind every tree, and bush, and stone. The hollow square
was agained formed; the assault again repelled. The In-
dians continuing to press bn, with increasing ferocity and
in increasing numbers, and the panic commencing to
spread from the commander to the privates, Logan, with
Harrod and Bedinger, selected their boldest and best-
mounted men, dashed into the bushes on horseback at
their head, scoured the woods, forced the Indians from
their covers, cut and shot down all they could overtake,
dispersed, and routed them. In this charge, Blackfish,
warrior and chief, was killed. The march was then re-
commenced and continued in order of the hollow square. —
[McClung.~\ Logan knew nothing of the classics, may
never have heard of Oresar or the Roman legion. His
native military genius inspired the adoption of the tactics
of the greatest of the Roman generals.
So constantly occupied in the defense of the interior
settlements of the Kentucky district, Benjamin Logan
had no part in the secret and successful expedition of
Clarke against the Kaskaskias and Vincennes. In 1780,
the British commandant at Detroit devised the incursion
into Kentucky, under Girty and Byrd, which laid waste
the plantations upon the Licking and Elkhorn, destroyed
RuddelFs and Martin's stations, and carried terror to every
heart. Retaliation having been resolved upon, Colonel
George Rogers Clarke proceeded from the Falls of the
Ohio, and Logan, who had served with Clarke in the right
wing under Dunmore, and witli him participated in the
only actual fighting done in that march into Ohio, met his
The Logans. % 133
old comrade, with the forces of the interior, at the mouth
of the Licking; Clarke had the command, Logan was
second in authority. The Indian settlement at Pickaway,
on the Miami, was vigorously attacked as soon as reached,
the defenders beaten and dispersed, the town burned, the
crops destroyed, and the cattle killed. The loss on both
sides was heavy. Logan was then detached with his men
to march against the Indian store and settlement some
twenty miles distant — Larimie's store ; the Indians, flee-
ing before him, declined the combat ; the store, which was
the main object of attack, and the town, were burned, and
the same policy of destruction was every-where pursued.
From this store, all the Indian expeditions into Kentucky
had been supplied with arms. Compelled by these severe
but necessary measures to resort to hunting for food, the
Indians, for the remainder of the year, left the Kentucky
settlers in peace. During the interval of security thus af-
forded, Colonel Logan visited Virginia, and, with that filial
piety which marked his life, brought his mother and sister
to Lincoln, where he gave them land, built them a house,
and provided for their future.
In the fall of 1779, Logan was followed to Kentucky by
his father-in-law, the elder William Montgomery, with his
family, and by Joseph Russell, another son-in-law of Mont-
gomery, and his family, who, after finding refuge at St.
Asaphs for a few months, built and occupied cabins about
twelve miles distant, on one of the sources of Green river.
The Indians had no sooner discovered these outlying set-
tlements than they attacked them. Early one morning,
in 1781, the elder William Montgomery stepped to the
door of his cabin, a negro boy by his side, "when both were
tired upon, and instantly killed-; the head of the negro fell
upon the doorsill so that it could not be closed. ' Jane
Montgomery, the daughter of the aged victim, sprang to
the door, with a vigorous shove of her foot pushed out the
dead boy's head, shut the door, called for her brother's
rifle, and, with it in her steady hand, bravely defied the
foe, who feared to approach the cabin. She afterward
married the gallant General Casey, of Adair, and was the
134 Historic Families of Kentucky.
grandmother of "Mark Twain," the noted humorist.
Betsey Montgomery, a younger sister, twelve years of age,
clambered out of the chimney, and, fleet as any deer of
the forest, outstripped pursuit, running to Pettit's station,
two miles away, whence the alarm was swiftly forwarded
to Logan's. William Montgomery, Jr., who lived in an
adjoining cabin, hearing the report of the shot that killed
his father, thrust his rifle over a crevice over the door of
his cabin, and firing twice at the Indians made two of
them bite the dust. John Montgomery, another son of
the elder, was shot dead while in bed in a third cabin, and
his wife was made prisoner. Joseph Russell, the son-in-
law, fled from the fourth cabin, leaving his wife, three
children, and a mulatto girl, captives in the hands of the
savages, who soon beat a retreat. An Indian who had
pursued Betsey Montgomery returned in ignorance of
what had occurred, mounted a log in front of the cabin of
the younger William Montgomery, who fired a third time
through the crevice over his door, recording a third vic-
tim to his trusty rifle. When the messenger from Pettit's
reached Logan's, the horn was sounded, and a determined
band soon started in pursuit, aided in following the trail
by the twigs Mrs. Russell managed to break from the trees
and the bits of a handkerchief she let fall whenever an
occasion offered. They found the yellow girl, who had
been scalped and left for dead, but who sprang to her feet,
on hearing Logan's voice, and recovered. When the In-
dians were overtaken, they fled at Logan's charge, but,
being followed as swiftly by the avengers, did not escape
without heavy loss. On hearing Logan's voice, one of the
Russell girls ex*claimed, " There's Uncle Ben.," when an
Indian immediately dispatched her with his tomahawk.
In 1782, information brought by spies that Colonel
Clarke was engaged in the preliminary arrangements for
an expedition from the Falls to attack Detroit, determined
the British commandant of that post to anticipate the
movement by precipitating his barbarian allies upon the
Kentucky settlements. With hearts inflamed by the san-
guinary appeals of the infamous Grirty, and the noted
The Logans. 185
Brandt, the Indians responded to the call to rapine and
murder; under the leadership of Colonel Caldwell, the
army that had been collected for the purpose suddenly
emerged in the interior; and, after bloody atrocities else-
where, on the night of the 14th of August laid siege to
Bryant's station, the gallantry of whose garrison is the
theme of McClung's unsurpassed description. Intelli-
gence of the incursion sent to Colonel John Todd, at Lex-
ingfon, was by him forwarded to Colonel Trigg, at Ilar-
rodsbnrg, and to Daniel Boone, at his fort on the Ken-
tucky river. Committing to Ilarrod the duty of apprising
Logan, Trigg, with such men as were immediately avail-
able, hurried to Lexington, where he was joined by the
ever-watchful Boone. A large force was quickly collected
by Logan, and, led by one in whose courage and wisdom
all confided, rapidly marched for the point of danger.
Logan himself records his misgivings, when, on reaching
Lexington, he ascertained that Todd and Trigg, both gal-
lant, but comparatively inexperienced in savage warfare,
and eager for distinction, had rashly marched without
him. Then forcing his own march forward, he had ad-
vanced a few miles beyond Bryant's, when the bloody and
dust-covered stragglers, returning from Blue Licks, told
him of that dreadful disaster. Gathering the fugitives,
and restoring order, Logan returned to Bryant's, there
awaited the arrival of a portion of his men who were hur-
rying on, and then resumed his march for the Blue Licks.
The Indians having retreated, to him was left only the
pious duty of burying the mangled remains of the heroes
he was powerless to avenge. It was no fault of a soldier
so vigilant, active, and enterprising, that the ambitious
zeal of the leaders who had fallen brought woe to the
widow and orphan, and mourning to all the land for its
best and bravest, in place of that assured and complete
victory that awaited the united force under the command
of a tighter at once so resolute and experienced. The
council at the Falls, to concert measures for immediate
revenge, was attended by Colonel Logan. In compliance
with the agreement, the men who rendezvoused at Bry-
186 Historic Families of Kentucky.
ant's were led by him to the mouth of the Licking, where
they were joined by Colonel Clarke with those from the
Falls. Clarke again directed the expedition, while Logan
was second in command. The Indians, fleeing in dismay
before the advance of so large a force, could not be
brought to an engagement, and the only compensation
and satisfaction gained for Blue Licks was in the work of
devastation and destruction which spread ruin and desola-
tion throughout the Indian country. This was effected in
a manner so thorough and remorseless as secured Ken-
tucky from any future invasion of such magnitude. Set-
tlers remote from others continued to be harassed and
beset by marauding raids, and the constant anxiety which
pervaded every mind kept Colonel Logan, and men like
him, forever on the alert. His letters to the governors of
Virginia show that from the first he had urged an ag-
gressive war against the Indians in their own country as
the best means of protecting the Kentucky settlements.
His services and signal capacity tor command having*
received tardy recognition by the distant state authorities
'of Virginia, by an appointment as brigadier-general, Lo-
gan, in 1786, crossed the Ohio river with Clarke, on his
abortive Wabash expedition. While in camp at Clarkes-
ville, Ind., it was .determined that General Logan should
leave his men with Clarke, return to Kentucky, and or-
ganize another expedition against the Miami and Mad
River Indian towns. The mind turns with sorrow from
Clarke's mortifying failure, nor receives consolation by
dwelling on its causes. The arrangements contemplated
by General Logan were soon perfected, the men assem-
bled, the inarch pushed onward with a celerity equalled
by its secrecy. Mackaehack. his first destination, reached,
that large Indian town would have been completely sur-
prised, but for the information given by a deserting
Frenchman, which enabled the warriors to escape. As it
was, twenty warriors were killed and eighty captured.
The pen of General Win. II. Lytle describes the scene in
which he Avas an actor; ho professes himself to have been
"animated with the energy with which the commander
The Logans. 137
conducted the head of the line. He waved his sword,
and, in a voice of thunder, exclaimed, 'charge from right
to left ' upon the retreating Indians." — [Howe] Among
the captives was the aged Moluntha, the great sachem of
the Shawanese, with his three wives, one of whom was
the celebrated " Grenadier Squaw," the sister of Cornstalk
and Tecumseh; and the young Indian prince, Lawba, son
of Moluntha and the " Grenadier Squaw," so-called from
her immense height, strength, and courage. The boy,
who was of the same age as Lytle, clung to him for pro-
tection. Unfortunately, among the officers under Logan
was Colonel Hugh McGary, still smarting under the cen-
sure which attributed to him the precipitation of the
tragedy at Blue Licks, and burning with desire for re-
venge for his comrades. Disregarding the peremptory
orders of General Logan to do no harm to the prisoners,
McGary, forcing his way through the crowd which sur-
rounded the old chief, his wives and son, demanded of
Moluntha if he had been at the " defeat of the Blue
Licks," to which an affirmative answer was given. In-
stantly seizing an ax from the " Grenadier Squaw," in
spite of the effort of Lytle to prevent it, and before any
one else could intervene, McGary laid Moluntha dead at
his feet. The swift seizure of Lytle's arm by others, alone
averted the thrust with which he sought to dispatch the
murderer, who escaped from the crowd. The town, with
the adjacent cornfields, was destroyed. Seven others
shared the same fate; but, the alarm being given to the
inhabitants, they saved themselves by timely flight. Pity
for their condition induced General Logan to take the wives
and son of Moluntha to his own home in Lincoln county.
Won by the handsome appearance and noble bearing of
Lawba, the generous victor adopted the lad, gave him his
own name, and educated him with his own children. The
speech made by General Logan to the important council
of Shawanese braves, subsequently held in the beautiful
valley opposite Maysville, of which the captivity of Lawba
was in part the subject, has been by Mr. Hixson, the care-
ful historian, most thoughtfully preserved. His affection
138 Historic Families of Kentucky.
won by the kindness of his protector, Lawba continued
the friend of the whites, and, in after years, sealed his de-
votion by the sacrifice of his life. Marshall, in his account
of General Logan, deemed it not beneath the pen of a
just historian to place on record "his open house and hos-
pitable attention to all emigrants and travelers ; and the
solicitude with which he often met them and conducted
them into the country;" surrounded daily by peril the
most imminent, he was vet careful of the amenities of
life ; the noble nature of the man never slept.
Nor did the incessant military duties of General Logan
render him neglectful of civil affairs. From Marshall it
is learned that in 1780 he was chosen to the General As-
sembly of Virginia, and, on the establishment of Lincoln
county, was commissioned as the colonel of its military
forces. In 1781, he was again elected to the general as-
sembly, and attended its session at Richmond. In the
latter year, he was also one of the magistrates who held
at Ilarrodsbnrg the first court which sat in Kentucky. In
1783, he was the second sheriff of Lincoln. In 1784,
General Logan — to whom had been committed the defense
of the interior, while Clarke commanded at the Falls — re-
ceived information of an intended Indian foray into Ken-
tucky upon a large scale; and publicly summoned the most
prominent and influential citizens of the district, from far
and near, to meet in Danville on a designated day, to con-
sult upon and concert measures for the common defense.
The meeting was very largely attended. The result of
the conference was to accept the conclusions of the ablest
lawyers present — that, under the existing laws, there was
no legal means of organizing a force to invade the Indian
territory; men could no longer be impressed; there was
no legal method of providing for the payment of those
who volunteered ; and, no matter how imminent the dan-
ger, there was no way in which the resources of the dis-
trict could be called out to meet the emergency. All legis-
lation had to come from Richmond. The necessity for a
government independent of Virginia was thus made ap-
parent. It was agreed that each militia company should
The Logans. 139
send a delegate to another convention, to be held in Dan-
ville on the 27th of December, 1784 ; this convention met,
and was the precursor of all the others. Sent several
times after 1781 to the Virginia Assembly, General Logan
was also a member of the first convention to consider the
question of separation from the mother state, which met
in Danville in 1785 ; a member of the conventions held for
the same purpose in 1787 and 1788. He was a member of
the convention which framed the first state constitution,
in 1792, as well as a member, from Shelby county, of that
which framed the second constitution, in 1799. From the
establishment of the state, in 1792, until his death, he was
frequently a member of the state legislature. In these
deliberative bodies, whether in Richmond, Danville, or
•Frankfort, his accurate information relating to all prac-
tical affairs of the district or state, his sound and strong
judgment formed in the study of men more than of
books, his broad views and intelligent statesmanship, and
the terse and judicious utterances with which he made
known his well-matured opinions, commanded respect,
and gave him a wide and beneficent influence in all public
affairs. In 1790, lie was appointed by Washington a
member of the local " Board of War," for the defense of
the district, the other members of which were Isaac
Shelby, Charles Scott, Harry Innes, and John Brown. It
is doing no injustice to others to say that his influence,
activity, zeal, energy, and military experience, contributed
equally with those of the heroes of King's Mountain and
of the Fallen Timbers, to the efficiency and morale of the
expeditions against the Indians which were prepared
under their direction. Under the constitution of 1792,
the governor was chosen by an electoral college, similar to
that of the federal government. The second governor,
successor to Shelby, was elected by this body in May, 1796.
The college was legally constituted of fifty-seven mem-
bers, of whom fifty-three only voted on the day designated
by law. Of those, 21 cast their votes for Benjamin Lo-
gan ; 17 for James Garrard ; 14 for Thomas Todd ; and 1
for John Brown. The college, holding that a majority of
140 Historic Families of Kentucky.
the whole was requisite to an election, proceeded to a sec-
ond ballot; Todd and Brown were dropped; and Garrard
receiving a majority of the votes was declared elected.
Logan, after obtaining from John Breckinridge his opinion
that the plurality vote he had received had legally elected
him, and that the subsequent action of the college was il-
legal and void, appealed the question to the senate, which
body the statute had made the arbiter of gubernatorial con-
tests. That body dodged the issue by deciding that the law
conferring upon it the jurisdiction was unconstitutional. —
\_Warjivbl.~] In December, 1802, while riding alone, Gen-
eral Logan fell from his horse in an apoplectic fit, was
found speechless where he had fallen, was conveyed to his
home, five miles from Shelbyville, and, in a few hours,
died. The inscription upon his tombstone states that he
was then sixty years old.
As hardy and as capable of endurance as Boone, Ken-
ton, Ilarrod, or Harlan — the equal of the most famous of
the early adventurers and hunters in woodcraft — in intel-
ligence, in mental endowments, in elevation of character,
Benjamin Logan was as superior to this class of the bold
and generous pioneers as he was in mere social position
and early surroundings. In the judgment of contem-
porary historians, among the grim warriors who conquered
the land from the Indians, and extended the boundary of
our country to and beyond the Mississippi, his sole equal
in military talents, in far-reaching enterprise, and in ca-
pacity for command, was found in the brilliant genius of
George Rogers Clarke. Above all others, these two will
forever stand conspicuous. Equally self-sacrificing, fully
as enterprising, and even more athletic than Clarke, the
energy and ardor of Logan were never the results of a
desire for individual advancement or of personal glory.
While no man felt more keenly or saw more plainly than
Logan the disadvantage under which Kentucky labored as
a distant province of Virginia, the idea of a revolutionary
and illegal separation, meditated by Clarke as early as
1776, never found even a transient lodgment in the
thoughts of his reflecting contemporary. The close of
The Logans. 141
Logan's eventful and honorable life remained unclouded
by the vices that force the generous to lament the eclipse
that darkened the fame and last days of the daring captor
of Vincennes. Content with the honors that came to him
naturally and unsought, and devoid of self-seeking, no re-
proach of ingratitude against his country corroded in the
heart nor passed the lips of Logan ; nor can it be shown
that ambitious visions induced him to accept a military
commission from a foreign power to enter upon an act of
war in violation of that country's laws. Comprehending
in all its magnitude the importance of the free navigation
of the Mississippi, and resolute as the foremost in all
legitimate, peaceful, and legal measures to secure it, no
act, or utterance, or written word of his ever for an in-
stant gave occasion or pretext for the charge that he fa-
vored a separation from the Union, or an alliance with a
foreign power, in order to obtain that commercial advan-
tage; nor left it to be disputed whether he opposed or
favored the proposition. His broad and comprehensive
mind realizing the magnificent future that awaited the
grand imperial republic' of the people, his figure stands
aloof from all real or alleged conspiracies, far above and
unassailed by the factious warrings and recriminations of
jealous and contending politicians.
The Moxtgomerys.
Traditions ascribing to the wife of General Logan a re-
lationship to the hero of Quebec are of no value and are
entitled to no respect. It was not near, nor can the most
remote connexion be traced. The identity of the names
suggests to the imagination the probability that both may
have sprung from families — possibly his kinsmen and
clansmen — planted by Hugh Montgomery in Ireland, upon
the lands wrung from The O'Neill as the price of his lib-
erty ; or from the subsequent emigrations of Protestant
Scotch. All that is certainly known of Anne Montgom-
ery's ancestors is, that they were of the Scotch-Irish Pres-
byterians who peopled the Valley; that they were, in
every way, respectable ; that their names are found among
142 Historic Families of Kentucky.
the valiant soldiers, among the civil officers (loomed worthy
of trust, and among the preachers of God's Word. With
the Logans, Gambles, MoClures and Campbells, they struck
out to the Holston, then the frontier. There they did not
acquire wealth, but became independent, and, the stuff of
which they were made being good, maintained in excel-
lent credit the worthy names they had inherited. The
fate that befel her father, and others of her kindred, has
already been stated, and may be found, in greater detail,
in the pages of Collins. Thomas Montgomery, one of the
sons of her brother, William, won distinction as the able
judge of his circuit district. He was the father of the
late Dr. Montgomery, of Lincoln, and of the first wife of
Dr. Lewis W. Green, the learned president of Hampden
Sidney and of Centre College, and one of the most elo-
quent and scholarly of pulpit orators. Anne Montgom-
ery's sister, Jane, was the wife of Colonel William Casey,
of Adair, after whom a Kentucky county was named, and
was, as has been stated, the grandmother of " Mark
Twain." A niece of Anne Montgomery married a brother
of Colonel Joseph Hamilton Daviess, and, after his death,
became the wife of the late Thomas Helm, of Lincoln ;
the wife of the eloquent Joshua F. .Bell was her daughter.
A niece of Anne Montgomery was the wife of the late
Judge Ben. Monroe, of Frankfort, an upright judge, a
valued reporter of the court of appeals, and an humble
Christian; this niece was the mother of Colonel George
W. Monroe, a soldier of the Federal army, and of the first
wife of Judge Wheat, of the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
Mrs. Wheat was the mother of Mrs. Cornelia Bush, the
first woman elected public librarian of the state. Did pre-
scribed limits permit, few pleasures would be more grati-
fying than that of following these Montgomerys through
all their ramifications — Caseys, Kussells, Clemens, Adairs,
Helms, Bells, Monroes, Wheats, and others — the numer-
ous descendants, scattered far and wide over South and
West, both men and women, generally staunch Presby-
terians, every-where, by their intrepidity, self-reliance and
strong, good sense, vindicate the laws of heredity. After
The Logons. 143
the death of General Logan, his widow married General
James Knox, by whom she had no issue. General Knox
was a native of Ireland, of Scotch descent, a man of great
force of character, and, as the leader of the " Long Hunt-
ers," was one of the earliest, as well as one of the most in-
telligent, of the explorers of the Kentucky wilderness —
his expedition setting out in 1769. He raised corn in what
is now Jefferson county, in 1775, was a soldier in the Rev-
olution, and represented Lincoln county in the legislature,
from 1795 to 1800. He died in Shelby count}', December
14, 1822. The widow of both these gallant men died in
Shelby, October 18, 1825, aged seventy-three years.
Judge William Logan.
David, the oldest child of General Logan and Anne
Montgomery, who was brought in his mother's arms to
Kentucky, in the beginning of 1776, grew to manhood,
and married ; but he and his wife both died shortly there-
after, without issue. William, the second child and son
of General Logan and Anne Montgomery, was born in
the fort at Harrodsburg, to which his mother had gone for
protection that could not then be afforded at St. Asaphs
in its isolated situation, on the 8th of December, 1776.
Whether he or Harrod Wilson was the first male white
child born in Kentucky, will remain in dispute. If not
the first, he was, at all events, the second male native; and
it is improbable that more than one white female, Chenoe
Hart, was born in Kentucky previously. — \Collins.~\ I lis
infancy was passed in the. fort at St. Asaphs, amidst seiges
and all the scenes of strife incident to savage warfare.
From his earliest boyhood, he was accustomed to listen to the
recital of battles and deeds of generous heroism and noble-
daring from the witnesses thereof and participants therein,
and thus was his character formed and molded. From his
father, who was most liberal in his views, he received
every advantage that could be afforded by the best teachers
in the country ; his education was thorough and classical ;
he was stimulated to exertion by constant collision with
other youths possessed of the most brilliant intellects.
144 Historic Families of Kentucky.
The laborious compiler, Collins, states that of the early-
born sons of Kentucky, " he was the most gifted and emi-
nent." AVhetlier this estimate was just or partial, it is
certain that in Kentucky, which is still proud of the fame
of the galaxy of orators and statesmen of that generation
who shed luster over her history, he was early and con-
tinuously selected as the most worthy of the highest pub-
lic honors — not easily won in those -days by the common-
place. Selected as a member, from Lincoln county, of the
convention which convened at Frankfort on the 17th of
August, 1799, at the age of twenty-two, to frame the sec-
ond constitution of Kentucky, he was next to the young-
est, yet one of its most useful members. In the important
task of shaping the organic law of the commonwealth, his
father sat as a member from Shelby; his uncle, Colonel
John Logan, was the associate of the able and eloquent
Harry Innes as members from Franklin ; General William
Casey, who had married his aunt, was the member from
Green ; while Judge Caleb Wallace, whose daughter he
afterward married, was one of the members chosen from
Woodford. Captain Thomas Marshall, a veteran of the
Revolution, one of whose granddaughters became the wife
of the best and ablest of Logan's grandsons, sat as the
member from Mason ; Walter Carr, whose son married his
cousin, was a member from Fayette; and Alexander Scott
Bullitt, whose wile was a first cousin of William Logan's
wife, and whose grandson married William Logan's grand-
daughter, was associated, from Jefferson, with Colonel
Richard Taylor, the father of the rough-fighting President.
The distinguished and brilliant John Breckinridge, after-
ward Attorney-General of the United States, two of whose
grandsons married two of William Logan's granddaugh-
ters, was another member from Fayette; which county
also sent Major John McDowell, whose sister had been the
first wife of Judge Caleb Wallace, whose daughter by a
second marriage was William Logan's wife. Besides these
relatives and connexions of William Logan, Fayette sent
to the convention the able Judge Buckner Thruston, son
of the distinguished Colonel Charles Mynn Thruston, of
The Logans. 145
the Revolution; Bourbon, the gallant John Allen, who,
after attaining the rank of major by hard fighting in the
Revolution, gained an enviable fame- as a 'lawyer and jurist
in Kentucky; Madison, the robust, energetic, strong-
minded, and fearless General Green Clay; Mercer, the
sensible and brave soldier, John Adair, afterward governor
of the state ; Scott, Colonel Robert Johnson, the pro-
genitor of a gallant race, one of whom figured in contem-
porary history as a hero at the Thames, as an honest na-
tional legislator, and as Vice-President of the United
States ; Nelson, the elder' John Rowan, than whom our
country has produced no more chivalrous gentleman, and
few more' eloquent orators or more learned jurists; and
"Washington, the brilliant Felix Grundy. Surrounded by
associates so illustrious, among whom mediocrity would
have been dwarfed, the handsome talents of the young
Logan attracted attention, and made him conspicuous.
He was frequently a member of the state legislature from
both Lincoln and Shelby counties; in 1803, when not yet
twenty-eight years of age, he was elected speaker of the
house of representatives; was selected for that position
for the three succeeding terms of the general assembly,
the choice being made unanimous in 1806; and was again
chosen at the terms of 1808 and 1809. No other man has
been chosen to that position so often in Kentucky, nor
presided in it with more winning grace. In 1809, he was
a presidential elector, and was chosen to that responsible
position again in 1813, and for a third time in 1817. Ap-
pointed judge of the court of appeals in 1808, he resigned
the place in a short time. Re-appointed in 1810, he was
noted for the propriety and ability with which he dis-
charged the responsible duties of the trust. — [Collins.'] In
1819, he was elected a senator of the United States; after
a brief service, resigned in 1820, for the purpose of be-
coming a candidate for governor, to which place he was
not elected. In 1821, he was once more sent to the lee;is-
lature from Shelby. He was now generally looked to for
governor in 1824, and the successorship to Adair was con-
10
Mi*> Historic Families of Kentucky.
ceded to him ; but, in 1822, he died, in the prime of his
manhood and intellect, in his forty-sixth year. The char-
acter of his mind was eminently conservative. In 1816,
Major George Madison had been elected governor of Ken-
tucky, and Gabriel Slaughter lieutenant-governor. The
lamented and popular Madison dying in a few weeks after
his inauguration, Slaughter became governor, and ap-
pointed John Pope secretary of state. The integrity of
Mr. Pope could not be challenged; the elevation of his
private character was never disputed ; his superior talents
were by all conceded. He had long been one of the fore-
most lawyers of the state; had been a valuable member
of the legislature, and had served a term in the United
States Senate with eminent ability. But he had been an
old Federalist, a political and personal friend of Hum-
phrey Marshall. (The mother of the latter was Mary,
daughter of Humphrey Guisenberry, of Virginia. One
of her sisters was the wife of John Pope, a relative of the
father of Senator John Pope, of Kentucky. The Pope
family had long been seated in Westmoreland county,
where one of them married Colonel John AVashington,
ancestor of the President.) These facts made him person-
ally obnoxious to Henry Clay, as well as politically offen-
sive to the Republican-Democratic party then dominant
in the state. Failing to coerce Governor Slaughter into
removing Mr. Pope, Mr. Clay and his friends sought to
depose Slaughter from the governorship, under the pre-
text that, upon the death of the governor elected by the
people, the lieutenant-governor did not succeed him in the
oihee, but became the acting governor only until an election
could be had as provided by the legislature. The deposition
was sought to be accomplished through the legislature, and
an effort was made to pass an act through that body pro-
viding for a "new election" of governor. Party feeling
ran mountain high. Domestic war seemed threatened as
a result of the controversy. Though politically opposed to
Pope, Judge Logan refused to act as a partisan in such a
matter, and, with equal ability, eloquence, and courage,
withstood the demands of the majority of the leaders of
The Logans. 147
his Own party, by maintaining that construction of the
constitution which was adopted as the true one when
passion had subsided — that the lieutenant-governor suc-
ceeded upon the death of the governor elect, and should
serve out his term. His conservatism was also made con-
spicuous in the "new and old court" controversy, the first
step in which was taken in 1822, before his death, in the
attempt made in the general assembly of which he was a
member to remove by address the upright and honest
Judge Clarke, because he had decided unconstitutional an
act of the general assembly that impaired the obligation
of a contract. This Judge Logan resisted with that firm
courage which was his prevailing characteristic, and with
all the ardor of his nature. Amicable in temper, cour-
teous and graceful in manners, with a prepossessing pres-
ence, his native talents were improved by culture; in
public debate, his argumentation was clothed with the
graces of rhetoric; his moral worth was equal to his
popularity.
Judge Caleb Wallace.
The wife of Judge "William Logan was a daughter of
Hon. Caleb Wallace, a native of Charlotte county, Vir-
ginia; a graduate of Princeton in 1770; received as a li-
centiate of the New Castle Presbytery by that of Han-
over, at the Tinkling Spring, in 1774; on the 3d of Oc-
tober of the same year, ordained pastor of the churches
of Cub creek and Falling river, at which ordination
"Father" David Rice, afterward the pioneer Presbyterian
minister of Kentucky, presided ; filled those pulpits most
acceptably, until 1779, when he removed to Botetourt,
where he continued to preach until 1783; then came to
Kentucky. Here he abandoned the ministry without for-
saking his religion or church ; adopting the law as a
profession, he rapidly went to the front; was a member
of both of the conventions of 1785 ; of those of 1787
and 1788 ; of that which framed the first state constitu-
tion, in 1702, as well as of that which framed the second,
in 1799; on the 28th of June, 1792, was appointed by
Shelby one of the first three judges of the court of ap-
148 Historic Families of Kentucky.
peals, the other two being Innes and Sebastian ; — altogether
a shining light and man of mark in those early and stir-
ring days. His second wife, the mother of Mrs. Logan,
was Priseilla Christian, a sister of Colonel William Chris-
tian. One of their sons, Samuel McDowell Wallace, of
Woodford, married a daughter of Major John Lee, of the
. r~ . .
Revolution, and a sister of John J. Crittenden's first wife. •
The interesting sketch of Judge Wallace soon to be pub-
lished will not be anticipated.
Judge Caleb Wallace Logan.
The oldest son of Judge William Logan and Priseilla
Wallace was the late Caleb Wallace Logan, of Louisville.
Born in Shelby county, July 15, 1819, and receiving in
boyhood the advantage of the best schools, he graduated
with honor and credit at Centre College, in 1888; grad-
uated at the law school of Transylvania University ; en-
tered first upon the practice in Woodford, where he soon
obtained prominence; removed to Louisville, and repre-
sented that city in the legislature in 1850. A frequent
contributor to the press, in the rise and progress of the
American party he wrote for the old "Louisville Journal "
a series of able articles which attracted wide-spread atten-
tion, and were largely instrumental in achieving the suc-
cess of that party in Kentucky, in 1855. The next year,
he was elected judge of the Louisville Chancery Court,
and for the six succeeding years discharged the difficult
duties of that position with an inflexible integrity that
was blind to everything but the principles of justice as
embodied in the law, and with a learning and ability that
was unsurpassed. The state was under military control
in 1862; Chancellor Logan had been a Union man in prin-
ciple, but had condemned the course of the administra-
tion, and had given emphatic and impulsive expression to
his views; the civil strife sorrowed and sickened him. He
was not re-elected. For years he had been a leading pro-
fessor in the Louisville Law School. In 1864, when not
yet forty-six years old, he died. A learned lawyer, he also
thoroughly comprehended the philosophy and teachings
The Logans. 149
of history, and bad been an enthusiastic and critical
student of poetry. A strong and forcible speaker, his
powers of reasoning and scholarly training were exhibited
to better advantage with the pen than in public debate.
Argumentative and analytical in mental characteristics,
he regarded and treated the law as a noble and elevating
science rather than as a mere means of milking money
from clients. His talents were rather those of a jurist
than of the advocate. He appeared to better advantage
in the class-room than in the scufflings of the court-house —
in trying to impart to the student his own broad and
acute conception of the teachings of the law, to infuse into
him his own enthusiasm for it as a humanizing profession,
than in exhibiting to a jury the cunning arts of the dema-
gogue and pettifogger. Louisville never had a chancellor
of greater integrity, of more extensive or elegant culture,
nor of a finer mental fibre. His temper was most genial,
his habits social, his manner confiding and kindly ; while
his intellectual qualities and literary attainments made
him one of the most interesting of conversationalists.
His eyes were blue, his hair reddish, his complexion florid,
his person full. In religion he was a Calvinist.
The first wife of Chancellor Logan was Agatha, only
daughter of Dr. Louis Marshall, famed as a scholar and
teacher, the youngest son of Colonel Thomas Marshall.
Her mother was Agatha, daughter of Major Francis
Smith, of the Revolution, whose wife was one of the four
daughters of John Preston. The only brother of Mrs.
Marshall, John Smith, married Chenoe Hart, probably the
first white child born in Kentucky. One of her sisters
was the wife of Governor George Madison ; another was
the wife of Colonel John Trigg; a third, the wife of James
Blair, Attorney-General of Kentucky, the mother of the
elder Francis P. Blair, renowned as an editor, and grand-
mother of the younger Francis P. Blair, an aggressive and
successful politician in Missouri, a bold and talented mem-
ber of Congress, and the heroic general in Grant's army.
The oldest brother of Mrs. Logan was William L. Mar-
shall, judge of the Baltimore Circuit Court; the seconds
150 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Thomas F. Marshall, perhaps the most gifted of Kentucky
orators ; the third, Dr. Alexander K. Marshall — a man of the
finest type of manly beauty, and of superior talents — rep-
resented Jessamine county in the constitutional conven-
tion of 1850, and the Ashland district in Congress, in
1855-57; and the fourth, Hon. Edward C. Marshall, the
brilliant congressman from California, afterward the able
attorney-general of that state — not so scholarly as his
older brother, Thos. F. Marshall, nor possessed of such
powers as a logician, but the master of as keen a wit and
more playful and unstudied humor, and capable of rising
to the highest flights of eloquence. The talents and lit-
erary tastes of Mrs. Logan rendered her a fitting com-
panion for her husband. Agatha, their oldest daughter,
married her cousin, Louis Chrisman, son of Dr. Alexander
K. Marshall. Mira Madison, their third daughter, is un-
married. Mary Keith, their fourth daughter, -married Dr.
David Cummings, of Louisville, who died shortly after
their marriage, and their only child also died in infancy.
The Bullitts.
Anne Priscilla, the second daughter of Chancellor Caleb
Wallace Logan and Agatha Marshall, was born in Wood-
ford county, April 26, 1847; and married her third cousin,
Captain Thomas Walker Bullitt, in 1870. The Bullitt
family has long been seated in Virginia and Maryland,
tradition assigning to it a French origin. The first of
whom the writer has definite knowledge were three broth-
ers who lived in Fauquier. One of these brothers was
the father of Thomas, Cuthbert, and Neville Bullitt, who
came to Kentucky at a very early day. Neville was a
farmer, and lived in Jefferson county. Thomas and Cuth-
bert were among the very first to engage in mercantile
pursuits in Louisville, amassed large fortunes, and became
the ancestors of Alexander C. Bullitt, the well-known
editor of the " New Orleans Picayune;" of the wife of the
heroic General Phil. Kearney ; of the family of the late
Dr. Wilson, of Louisville; of Colonel William A. Bul-
litt ; of the Weissengers, and others. Another of these
The Logans. 151
Fauquier brothers, Thomas Bullitt, was the captain who
acted with such conspicuous courage at Grant's defeat, in
Braddock's campaign, and on various occasions during
the Revolution ; who made the first surveys at the Falls
of the Ohio, in 177 ; i : who figures in the Indian treaties
of that period; and who was the adjutant-general of Vir-
ginia in the Revolution. This Colonel Thomas Bullitt
never married. He was one of the boldest and best edu-
cated of the explorers. Unfortunately, the rivalry be-
tween this enterprising man and General Andrew Lewis
grew into personal enmity, gave much trouble to Wash-
ington, who had been the friend of both, and prevented
Colonel Bullitt from reachino; the rank to which his tal-
ents and meritorious services entitled him to aspire. The
third brother, Cuthbert, was an able lawyer and a dis-
tinguished judge in Virginia. His wife was a daughter
of Rev. James Scott — an educated Scotchman and an
Episcopalian minister, — whose wife was a daughter of Rev.
James Brown, also an Episcopalian minister, whose wife
was a daughter of Colonel Gerard Fawke, of Maryland,
and related to the Masons. From other daughters of Rev.
James Brown are descended the Moncures, Daniels, Con-
ways, and many of the most prominent families in Vir-
ginia. One of the sons of Judge Cuthbert Bullitt bore
his own name, and was an eminent lawyer and judge in
Maryland. Another son, Alexander Scott Bullitt, came
to Kentucky as one of the pioneers in early manhood, and
by his own force of •character, even more than by»his
family influence, rapidly rose into prominence. He was a
member of the convention of 1788; a member of the con-
vention of 1792, which framed the first state constitu-
tion ; was president of the convention of 1709, which
framed the second constitution ; continuously speaker of
the senate from the establishment of the state until 1800;
the office of lieutenant-governor having been created by
the second constitution, in 1800 he was chosen to that po-
sition, and continued to preside over the senate until
1804; — a robust, solid, sensible, strong-willed man. Alex-
ander Scott Bullitt married a daughter of Colonel William
152 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Christian, was present when that gallant man was killed
by the Indians, and shot down the savage at whose hand
he fell. The wife of Colonel Christian was Anne Henry,
a sister of the orator, and her mother was Sarah Winston,
of a family as singularly gifted as it was remarkably pro-
lific. Alexander Scott Bullitt and his Christian wife, be-
sides several daughters, had two sons, Cuthbert and Will-
iam Christian. The former was the lather of the late Dr.
Henry M. Bullitt, of Louisville, and of the wife of the
late Archibald Alexander Gordon ; — Mr. Gordon was a de-
scendant of Colonel James Gordon, one of whose daugh-
ters married Rev. James Waddel, " the blind preacher,"
whose daughter married Dr. Archibald Alexander, of
Princeton. The other son of Alexander Scott Bullitt
was the late William Christian Bullitt, of Jefferson
county — a man of intellect, courage, and the highest
order of personal integrity — an influential member of the
convention of 1850, that framed our present state con-
stitution. The wife of William Christian Bullitt was
Mildred Anne Fry, a daughter of
Joshua Fry,
who won a just celebrity as teacher of the classics in Mer-
cer county. The children of Wm. C. Bullitt and Mildred
Anne Fry were : Joshua Fry Bullitt, an erudite lawyer,
who was judge of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky;
John C. Bullitt, a successful lawyer and financier of Phil-
adelphia; Thomas W. Bullitt, who married Anne Pris-
cilla Logan ; James, a gallant soldier in the Confederate
army, and a most lovely character, who was killed while
carrying a flag of truce; Henry Massie, a substantial
farmer of Jefferson county; Susan, the second wife of
Senator Archie Dixon; and Helen, the wife of Dr. Henry
Chenowith. It is not often a family in this country keeps
up for so many generations. There is something tough
about the fiber of this Bullitt stock which makes it wear
so well.
The Logans. 153
The Frys.
The first of this family who settled in Virginia was
Joshua Fry, a gentleman in social position in England ;
a graduate of Oxford ; and, after his emigration to Amer-
ica, a professor of mathematics at the good old college of
William and Mary. It was he who was colonel of the
regiment of Virginians which was sent on the first expe-
dition, in 1754, against Fort Duquesne, and which, after
his death, was commanded by the lieutenant-colonel,
George Washington ;— a man of high standing, influence,
and cultivation, in those colonial days, was this Colonel
Joshua Fry. His wife was in no way connected with Dr.
George Gilmer, nor with Dr. Thomas Walker, as er-
roneously stated by Governor Gilmer, in his " Sketches of
Upper Georgia." She was, when he married her, the
widow Mary Hill, the daughter of Dr. Paul Micou, a
French Huguenot, who took refuge in Virginia from the
persecutions following the revocation of the Edict of
Nantes. Educated for the bar in France, Dr. Micou
abandoned that profession, and entered upon the practice
of medicine in Virginia, where he gained independence,
and commanded respect not less for his personal worth
than by his professional attainments. The reputable fam-
ilies of Virginia which bear the name of Micou are all his
descendants. So also, through one of his daughters, are
many of the Fauntleroys and Lomaxes, and some branches
of the Dangerfield and Brockenboro families. The oldest
son of Colonel Joshua Fry and Mary Micou was Colonel
John Fry, in whose name Washington made, in Boyd and
Lawrence counties, the first surveys ever made in Ken-
tucky. The wife of Colonel John Fry was Sallie Adams,
a member of a numerous and influential family of Vir-
ginia, among whom may be mentioned Colonel Richard
Adams ; Dr. Adams, of Richmond ; Tabitha Adams, who
married Colonel William Russell; and Alice, who was the
first wife of William Marshall, a rarely profound lawyer,
and brother of Dr. Louis Marshall. The only child of
Colonel John Fry and Sallie Adams who had issue was
154 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Joshua Fry, who, after having been a soldier in the Revo-
lution, emigrated to Mercer county, Kentucky, where he
had inherited a large landed estate, and, finding the edu-
cational facilities limited in that then far western land,
opened a school for the instruction of his own children
and those of his neighbors. To the thorough training re-
ceived at his hands, to the honorable ambition which he
excited in all brought within the circle of his beneficent
influence, many of the most prominent of the generation
that followed the. pioneers in Kentucky owed the emi-
nence to which they attained. Amiable and benevolent
as he was scholarly and accomplished, he was beloved by
all who ever saw or knew him ; — a fine type of those edu-
cated Virginians, thinkers as well as scholars, who im-
pressed the characteristics of their own minds and cus-
toms upon the early history of our people, his name will
be revered until the fame of the men who won and made
the state shall become a forgotten memory. The wife of
Joshua Fry the teacher, was Peachy, the youngest daugh-
ter of
Dr. Thomas Walker,
the commissary-general of Braddock's army ; better known
as a skillful surveyor and scientific engineer than as a
physician; still better known for the advantageous treaties
he made with the Indians; who, in company with Captain
Charles Campbell, Colonel James Patton, and others, had
penetrated into Kentucky as far as the Dick's river, in Mer-
cer county, long before the feet of Findlay or Boone had
pressed her soil. The children of Joshua Fry and Peachy
Walker were: Sallie, who became the first wife of lion.
John Green; Lucy, who married John Speed, judge of
the Circuit Court of the Louisville district, and was the
mother of lion. James Speed, Attorney-General of the
United States; Martha, who married David Bell, a mer-
chant and native of Ireland, and was the mother of Joshua
F. Bell, the brilliant advocate and eloquent orator, a dis-
tinguished member of Congress, and one of the men who,
in the state legislature, held Kentucky fast and firm to
her moorings in the Union. Mrs. Bell was also the
The Logans. 155
mother of the wife of Ormond Beatty, L.L.D., the
learned president of Centre College. Mrs. Bullitt was the
youngest daughter of Joshua Fry. One of his sons,
Thomas, was the father of General Speed Smith Fry, who
distinguished himself at Buena Yista as captain in Mc-
Kee's regiment, and on more than one bloody field in the
civil war; and of the second wife of Dr. Lewis W. Green.
Joshua Fry's son, John, was the father of Major Carey
Fry, of the regular army, and of Colonel John Fry, of
the Kentucky volunteers.
Dr. "Walker's "Wife.
Were nothing said of the wife of a man so celebrated
and useful as Dr. Walker, of the ancestress of so many
lines of excellent men and women, a record like this
would be incomplete. Yet it is far easier to ascertain
who she was not, than to definitely establish who she was.
That her given name was Mildred; that when Dr. Walker
married her, she was the widow of Nicholas Merriwether;
that by her first husband she had a daughter, Mildred
Merriwether, who married John Syme, the elder half-
brother of Patrick Henry, and had issue ; that she brought
her second husband a very large landed estate in Albe-
marle, a part of which was the manor of " Castle Hill,"
where he lived, and which has recently received new
celebrity as the residence of her descendant, Amelie Rives,
the authoress; — that much appears in the official record to
be found in Henning's Statutes, in an act of the assembly
to " dock" an entail. The statement of Governor Gilmer,
in his "Sketches of Upper Georgia," that she was the
great-granddaughter of Nicholas Merriwether (the grand-
father of her first husband), and that she first married
Colonel John Syme, " a traveled gentleman of rank and for-
tune, whose name is still freshly remembered from the de-
licious, tender, white-rinded, red-meat watermelon, which
he brought to this country from the islands of the Medi-
terranean," is as erroneous as it is amusing. The enter-
taining writer simply confounded her with her own daugh-
ter, and confounded her daughter's husband with his own
156 Historic Families of Kentucky.
father. The Colonel Syme referred to by Governor Gil-
mer married Sarah Winston, and it was his son by her
who married Mildred Merriwether, the daughter of Dr.
"Walker's wife; after the death of Colonel Syme, Sarah
Winston married Colonel John Henry, a relative of Rob-
ertson, the historian, and of Lord Brougham, and by him
was the mother of the orator, and of the wives of Colonel
Christian and of General William Campbell. Equally er-
roneous, and even more unaccountable, is the statement
published by her descendant, Dr. Richard Charming Moore
Page, in his valuable genealogy of the " Page Family,"
that she was the daughter of either Colonel John Thorn-
ton and Mildred Gregory, or of Colonel Francis Thorn-
ton and Frances Gregory, and the granddaughter of Roger
Gregory and Mildred Washington (the only sister of Gen-
eral Washington's father, and the godmother of the gen-
eral himself). . The wife of Roger Gregory referred to was
the youngest child of Lawrence Washington and Mildred
Warner, and was born in 1696. The record in the old
family bible of Dr. Thomas Walker shows that his wife
was born in 1721 ; that her daughter, Mildred Merri-
wether, was born in 1739 ; and that she was married, the
second time, to Dr. Walker, in 1741. So that, if Dr.
Page's statement were correct, Mrs. Mildred Gregory
would have been a grandmother at twenty-jive, and a great-
grandmother at forty -three. But additional evidence of
the incorrectness of Dr. Page's statement is found in the
official record contained in"Henniug's Statutes," in an
act for settling the estate of Colonel John Thornton, who
died intestate ; from which it appears that his daughter
Mildred, by Mildred Gregory, was the second wife of
Samuel Washington, the next youngest brother of the
general, which also appears from the letter of General
Washington himself to Sir Francis Heard. And that the
wife of Dr. Thomas Walker was not Mildred, the daugh-
ter of Colonel Francis Thornton and Frances Gregory, is
rendered certain by the same letter of General Washing-
ton, which shows that that Mildred Thornton was the wife
of his youngest brother, Charles Washington. The fact
The Logans. 157
is, that the wife of Dr. Walker was of an older generation
than the daughters of Colonels John and Francis Thorn-
ton. Dr. Walker himself was probably older than either
of the Thorntons, and his wife was very little, if any,
younger than their wives. She may have been their
sister; she certainly was not the daughter of either. After
the death of Roger Gregory, his widow, born Mildred
Washington, became the third wife of Colonel Henry
Willis, the founder of Fredericksburg. By his second
wife (also born Mildred Washington, and a daughter of
the first John Washington's son John), Colonel Henry
Willis had a daughter, Mary, who married Hancock Lee,
and was the mother of Major John Lee and grandmother
of Senator Crittenden's first wife. By his third wife (the
widow Gregory), besides his son, Colonel Lewis Willis, he
had a daughter, Anne, who married Duff Green, and was
the mother of Willis Green, the second clerk of Lincoln
county, and a member of the conventions of 1785-88. Mrs.
Anne (Willis) Green died, near Danville, about 1820; her
tombstone still stands at the Old Reed Fort. Her grandson,
Judge John Green, married Sallie Fry, the granddaughter
of Dr. Thomas Walker, and she lived in the same house
with them, and with other daughters of Joshua Fry, for
years before her death, and never had a suspicion that they
were the great-granddaughters of her half-sister, as this
statement of Dr. Page, if correct, would make them. The
youngest son of Willis Green, Rev. L. W. Green — grand-
son of Anne Willis — married Mary Fry, granddaughter
of Joshua Fry and Peachy Walker; but neither of them
ever knew of a relationship. The wives of Major James
Barbour, of Dr. Ben. Edwards, of St. Louis, and of Dr.
William Craig, of Danville, lived on the most affectionate
and intimate terms with the daughters of Joshua Fry and
Peachy Walker, but there was never any recognition of a
blood kinship between them. There was none. Dr. Page's
statement that Dr. Walker's first wife was the daughter of
either Mildred or Frances Gregory, or of either Colonel
John or Colonel Francis Thornton, is a mistake. Equally
incorrect is Dr. Page's statement that Dr. Walker's second
158 Historic Families of Kentucky.
wife was Elizabeth, the daughter of either Colonel John
or of Colonel Francis Thornton. For Colonel John Thorn-
ton's daughter Elizabeth married John Taliaferro, of Dis-
sington ; and Colonel Francis Thornton's daughter Eliza-
beth married, as his second wife, her kinsman, John
Lewis, son of Colonel Fielding Lewis and Catherine Wash-
ington. But, whatever may have been her maiden sur-
name, and from whatever family she may have come, Mrs.
Walker undoubtedly was the ancestress of a gallant and
a noble race, who did their part well in the Revolution,
and in every struggle since ; — lawyers, physicians, profess-
ors, financiers, soldiers, congressmen, governors, senators,
members of the national cabinet, and as ministers of the
gospel, they have left their impress upon their times and
country.
Captain Thomas W. Bullitt graduated at Center Col-
lege ; studied law in Philadelphia; entered the Confed-
erate army as a private soldier, and fought his way up to
a captaincy in General John II. Morgan's command; was
badly wounded in the service, from which he came out, at
the final surrender, with the reputation of a good and
brave soldier. At the close of the war, he entered upon
the practice of his profession in Louisville, has been emi-
nently successful therein, and enjoys the confidence of a
large clientage. To say that he is a worthy combination
of the best moral and mental qualities of the different
hardy, vigorous, and enduring stocks from which he
comes, is to do him the barest justice. He has many
children.
After the death of Agatha Marshall, Chancellor Logan
married, secondly, Irene Smith, by whom he had one
daughter. A kinswoman of the second wile, Fanny
Smith, married Colonel Alexander C. Bullitt. One of her
sisters is the wife of Judge Joshua F. Bullitt, and another
sister was the wife of Senator R. W. Johnson, of Arkansas.
The McKniguts and Cummings.
Anne, the oldest daughter of Judge William Logan and
Priseilla "Wallace, was born in Kentucky, and, in the
The Logans. 159
dawn of her womanhood, became the wife of Virgil Mc-
Knight. The family of that name came from Ireland to
Pennsylvania, and thence to the Valley of Virginia; but
it was of Scottish origin, and of the Presbyterian faith.
Among the soldiers of the French and Indian wars wbose
names are preserved in the colonial records, was Daniel
McJSTight, as the name was erroneously spelled by the re-
cording clerk. He was of the same family as, and not
improbably the immediate ancestor of, Virgil McKnight,
the able and widely known president of the Bank of Ken-
tucky. George McKnight was an ensign in Colonel
Byrd's regiment of Royal Virginians in 1755. Andrew
McKnight, the father of Virgil, was born in Rockbridge
comity, Virginia, in 1773. One of Andrew McKnight's
brothers moved to Ohio, and left issue of his own and
other names in that state. One of Andrew's sisters mar-
ried an uncle of Dr. John Clarke Young, the eloquent
pulpit orator and learned president of Centre College —
these Youngs also lived in Ohio. Another of Andrew
McKnight's sisters married a Shields, but of them the
writer has no knowledge beyond the fact stated. Andrew
McKnight, himself, married Elizabeth Cummings, who
was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, in 1771 ; she
belonged to one of the most noted, and intellectual, and
worthy of the Scotch-Irish families of the Valley. She
was the daughter of John Cummings and Esther Reid.
One of the brothers of Elizabeth, Samuel Cummings, mar-
ried Sarah Paxton ; and one of her sisters, Esther, married
Lyle Paxton, brother of Sarah. It would be interesting
to follow the Cummings family in its numerous other in-
termarriages with the Paxtons, with the McClungs, Lyles
and Alexanders, all of the faith of John Knox ; their pos-
terity contributed many superior men to the ranks of the
liberal professions, especially to the ministry. It would be
foreign to the object of this book to dwell upon their high
social position, which does not always indicate a vigorous
breed. The cultivation that distinguished them, their own
recognized intellectuality, would render useless a vain at-
tempt to trace a connexion between them and the ancient
160 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Comyns who were Lords of Badenoch in Scotland, and
from whom the more modern mime of Cummmsrs is de-
rived.
The Iveids.
Among the pioneers of Augusta county, were three
brothers, of Scottish extraction, who came from the
Count}* Down, in Ireland, where they were born — Thomas,
John and Andrew Reid. The oldest of these brothers,
Thomas Reid, married a highland woman, named Mc-
Kean, and had by her three children, two of whom mar-
ried their cousins, daughters of their uncle, John Reid,
Sr., who bore the title of colonel. These two were Colo-
nel John Reid, Jr., who married his uncle John's daugh-
ter, Martha ; and Nathan, who married his uncle John's
daughter, Sarah. The third son of Thomas Reid, Alex-
ander, came to Kentucky. It was this Alexander Reid, or
his son, who represented Shelby county in the legislature
in 1801, '02, and again in 1806; and it was a descendant of
his, an Alexander Reid, of a later generation, who repre-
sented the same county in the legislature in 1825, '26, '27.
Colonel John Reid, Sr., the second of the emigrant broth-
ers, married Martha Nisbet, and had by her a numerous
progeny, besides the two daughters above mentioned as
having married their cousins. The third brother, Andrew
Reid, Sr., had, among others, a son, Andrew Reid, Jr.,
who married Sarah, daughter of his uncle, Colonel John
Reid, Sr., and Martha Xisbet, and the widow of his uncle
Thomas Reid's son, Nathan. This Andrew Reid, Jr., and
Sarah Reid, had six children. One of their sons was Gen-
eral Andrew Reid, of Rockbridge, who married Magdalen
McDowell, twin-sister of the first wife of Judge Caleb
Wallace, and daughter of Judge Samuel McDowell and
Mary McClung. One of the daughters of Andrew Reid,
Jr., and Sarah, was Agnes Ann Reid, who married Will-
iam Alexander, and was the mother of Dr. Archibald
Alexander, of Princeton. Their residence stood on the
ground now occupied by the residence of the late General
Robert E. Lee, in Lexington, Virginia, and in which Gen-
eral Custis Lee now resides. A third daughter, Flora,
The Logans. 161
married John Lyle ; and Rev. John Lyle, who taught a fe-
male seminary at Paris, and established the " Citizen," was
one of their sons. This latter married the widow Lapsley,
whose maiden name was Irvine, and who was a sister of
the wives of Samuel McDowell, of Mercer, and Colonel Jo-
seph McDowell, of Danville. One of their sons was John
Lyle, of Boyle county, who also married an Irvine. The
fifth child of Andrew Reid, Jr., and Sarah, was Esther
Reid, who married John Cummings, and was the mother
of Elizabeth Cummings, the wife of Andrew McKnight.
Another daughter of Andrew Reid, Jr., and Sarah — also
named Sarah Reid — married Joseph Alexander, the fourth
son of Archibald Alexander and Margaret Parks, brother
of William Alexander (who married her sister, Agnes Ann
Reid), and uncle of the great preacher and theologian.
Sarah Reid, the wife of Andrew, Jr., in 1760, was mur-
dered, and her body thrown into a creek, by a negro whom
she had reproved. Andrew, son of William Alexander
and Agnes Ann Reid — brother of Dr. Archibald — married
Anne Aylett, and their fifth child, Evaline, was the wife of
the distinguished General Samuel McDowell Moore, re-
ferred to on a previous page.
Andrew McKnight and Elizabeth Cummings had a son
born to them in Virginia, James, who married a Miss
Paxton in that state. When this child was an infant, they
removed to Woodford county, Kentucky, where they
bought and lived upon a farm, and where their other chil-
dren were born. That they were highly respected by all
was but natural. For their high character, strong good
sense, and quick-witted intelligence, they were honored by
such men as Dr. Louis Marshall, and others, who could
appreciate their worth.
Virgil McKnight,
second son of Andrew McKnight, was born on his father's
farm in 1798, received the best education to be had in the
schools of the neighborhood, and in his youth became en-
gaged in commercial pursuits. In these he was success-
11
162 Historic Families of Kentucky.
ful, and had already made a handsome competency in
1838, when he was called to the presidency of the Bank 01
Kentucky. His marriage to Anne Logan occurred in
Shelbyville, at the residence of her parents, in 1822. He
had not wound up his mercantile husiness when he ac-
cepted the presidency of the hank, which required all his
time; fidelity to the obligations of the trust involved
neglect of his private affairs, and mismanagement by
others swept away the greater part of the accumulations
of years of successful thrift. Before he assumed the dn-
ties of that position, in May, 1837, the Kentucky banks
had, in the midst of a monetary convulsion, suspended
specie payments ; in consequence, their stock fell in the
markets, and their credit, as well as that of the state, had
become seriously impaired. One of the first steps taken
by him on his accession to the office, which constituted
him a member of the board of commissioners of the sink-
ing fund, was to unite the banks in an effort to repair the
injured credit of the state; and in May, 1838, a large
amount of state bonds were sold on advantageous terms
for the state, mainly to capitalists who had known him as
a merchant, and had faith in his representations. In Au-
gust of the same year, chiefly in deference to his urgent
advice, the banks resumed specie payments. The stock of
his bank rapidly enhanced in value. The ensuing year,
the suspension of specie payments by the banks of Ohio,
Virginia, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and ^Tew Orleans, oc-
casioned such a drain on those of Kentucky to help meet
the demand from Europe, that another suspension was
deemed advisable, which sent the stock of the Bank of
Kentucky down to seventy-one cents. The Bank of Ken-
tucky had at Philadelphia, in the person of the cashier of
the Schuylkill Bank — a Mr. Levis — an agent for the sale
and transfer of its stock. To support the sinking credit
of the Sehuylkill Bank, its cashier made a fraudulent issue
of stock in the Bank of Kentucky, aggregating the im-
mense sum of §1,299,700. The fraud was revealed to the
Bank of Kentucky by a private communication from the
confidential clerk of Levis, and another agent was ap-
The Logans. 163
pointed for the Bank of Kentucky ; this revelation was
made in December, 1839. On being charged with his
fraud, Levis confessed, and fled the country. The stock
of the bank went down at once to fifty-five cents. The
bank promptly assumed responsibility for this fraudulent
issue by its dishonest agent. Then, in order to obtain
legal recourse upon the Schuylkill Bank for the fraud of
its cashier, it became necessary to establish that fraud by
identifying the genuine and authorized stock and separa-
ting it from that which was unauthorized, spurious, and
fraudulent. Several clerks and book-keepers employed by
the parent bank in Louisville went to Philadelphia, at-
tempted this delicate and difficult task, failed, and, return-
ing to Louisville, declared it could not be accomplished.
Mr. ¥m. S. Waller, who was at the time the cashier of the
Lexington branch of the Bank of Kentucky — a man not
only of probity, but of sense, and a most expert and skill-
ful accountant, — went with Mr. McKnight to Philadelphia,
and, after a careful scrutiny and study of the whole sub-
ject, organized the plan and system which was adopted
and carried out, and by means of which the fraudulent is-
sue was successfully traced, the proof of the fraud brought
home to the Schuylkill Bank, and recourse obtained upon
the assets of that bank to reimburse the Bank of Ken-
tucky for its loss. The credit for originating this most
ingenious method belongs exclusively to Mr. AValler. In
the conduct of that part of all this intricate business which
fell to him as the president and head of the Bank of Ken-
tucky, Mr. McKnight was thrown into contact and inti-
mate association with such men as John Serjeant and
Horace Binney, the eminent lawyers of Philadelphia, and
with Nicholas Biddle and other financiers. These men
were impressed by, and bore record to, his incorruptible
integrity, his unusual shrewdness and business sagacity,
his strong practical sense, sound judgment, and clear in-
tellect. In the conversion of the assets of the Schuylkill
Bank, consisting in large part of mining properties, and
requiring many years to do so without sacrifice, skill and
ability of a high order were exhibited by Mr. McKnight. His
1G4 Historic Families of Kentucky.
management of that entire vexatious entanglement added to
his reputation as a financier, and was so successful and satis-
factory to the stockholders of the bank, that they volunta-
rily presented him with a considerable block of its stock as
a substantial evidence of their appreciation. In 1842, the
banks of Kentucky once more resumed specie payments,
and, under the sensible and conservative management of
Mr. McKnight, the stock of the institution of which he
was the head appreciated rapidly in value, and in a few
years sold at a premium. No financial institution in this
country had a higher credit or reputation. • When, by its
large investments in works of internal improvement the
credit of the state was jeopardized, the services of Mr.
McKnight as one of the sinking fund commissioners were
most valuable; his counsel, which was generally followed,
sound and sagacious. In 18(31, when applied to by Ma-
goffin for money with which to pay for arms contracted
for or ordered, while other banks placed the money at his
disposal, or refused the application, the president of the
Bank of Kentucky annexed as a condition of the loan, if
made, that the arms so purchased should be used solely
in self-defense, and to protect the " State of Kentucky and
the. Union." Magoffin did not want the arms for that pur-
pose ; the loan was not made. During all the troublous
times incident to the inauguration of civil war, Mr. Mc-
Knight, a staunch friend of the Union, contributed a
weighty influence in convincing the business men of Louis-
ville and Kentucky that their best interests and only
safety were in the maintenance of American nationality.
No record of that epoch will be complete which does not
make known his prominence. At a later date than that
referred to, he returned to Magoffin's application for
money an emphatic " No," that resounded throughout the
commonwealth. In the fall of that year, when Kentucky
took her place for the maintenance of the laws, and money
was needed to equip her sons, the bank came promptly
forward with its full quota. The history of this institu-
tion is the public record of its president. Conservative
and patriotic, benevolent and kindly, civil strife had for
The Logans. 165
him nothing; but horror. Broad minded and liberal, Mr.
McKnight had an intelligent conception of the duties, re-
sponsibilities, and highest interests of a great state bank.
That those interests could not be promoted by the dis-
honor of the commonwealth; that its highest degree 'of
prosperity could be best attained by advancing and uphold-
ing that of the state, of the community, and of legitimate
commerce, were facts to which he was keenly alive. In
the midst of panics, he remained calm and clear headed ;
in times of monetary stringency, the policy of the bank
was liberal to the extent permitted by prudence. While
many a worthy merchant owed his salvation from bank-
ruptcy to the timely aid extended by the bank under his
management, not one can trace his ruin to harsh pressure
from that source. Equable and placid in temper, and
warm in his attachments, he never permitted his friend-
ships to sacrifice the interests of which he was the guard-
ian, and, if the occasion required it, could repel importunity
with sternness. He was just and fair-minded, discerning
and dispassionate. When James Barbour was first auditor
of the state under the incumbency of Governor Helm, he
found a considerable sum accumulated and lying idle in
the treasury. He ascertained also that the Bank of Ken-
tucky owned $250,000 of five per cent bonds of the state,
and that the commonwealth was entitled by law to buy at
par $250,000 of the stock of that bank, which was then
selling at a premium. It occurred to Mr. Barbour, then
a young man, that it would be a good thing for the state
to purchase its bonds, and thus stop the interest, with
this surplus money, instead of letting it continue to be
idle; or, if that could not be done on advantageous terms,
to invest this surplus in stock that would yield divi-
dends more than equal to the interest on the bonds ; and,
further, that the right to buy this stock at par would en-
able him to obtain the bonds at a discount. Having pre-
viously made an arrangement with another bank for a
temporary loan of $50,000, which, with the surplus, would
give the sum necessary to buy the stock, at the first meet-
ing of the commissioners of the sinking fund after his
166 Historic Families of Kentucky.
plans had been matured, he addressed to Mr. McKnight a
proposition to buy from the bank the $250,000 of state
bonds it held, at eighty-seven and one-half cents on the
dollar. Mr. McKnight peremptorily refused to sell ; it
suited the bank to hold the bonds, and it had no use for
the money. Then, said Mr. Barbour, the state is legally
entitled to buy $250,000 of your stock at par, and the state
insists upon its right. Mr. McKnight told him to wait
awhile — that would be seen about. The board taking a re-
cess, when it reconvened Mr. McKnight accepted the first
proposition rather 'than increase the capital stock of the
bank, and sold the bonds at the price designated. The
state had thus made for it $32,000 — the only money that
any of its officers ever did make for the commonwealth.
Instead of resenting the turn taken on him, Mr. Mc-
Knight recognized the fidelity and capacity for affairs ex-
hibited, and at once gave directions that the first vacancy
which occurred in the branches of the Bank of Kentucky
should be given to Mr. Barbour ; at his instance, that gen-
tleman was soon after elected to the cashiership of the
branch bank at Maysville. Those who knew Mr. Mc-
Knight only in his business relations could form no idea
of the extensive, varied, and accurate information he pos-
sessed on all public affairs, his general and thorough ac-
quaintance with history and the higher branches of litera-
ture ; nor could they suspect the loving and affectionate
nature hidden by the mask presented to the public, nor
see the gentle tenderness of the natural man disclosed in
the circle of his own home. Plain and unassuming in
habits, and economical in his own personal expenditures,
his nature had contracted nothing of that sordidness nor
chilling hardness which are too frequently the result of
long continuance in the vocation of a money-lender.
His home was the abode of quiet elegance, of a hospitality
as free and lavish as it was unostentatious. The house,
seldom unfilled with guests, was always bright and
cheery — the genial host having no greater delight than
in listening to the bright wit, the merry jests, and rip-
pling laughter of the young. He was of medium height,
The Logans. 167
of bulky frame ; his head was large, his forehead broad
and high, with a prominent brow ; his hair was sandy, com-
plexion ruddy; his hands soft, white, and shapely; his
eyes deep set, small, very dark, bright, and watchful, and
at times twinkled with fun.
The children of Virgil McKnight and Anne Logan were :
Elizabeth, the wife of S. M. Wing, formerly of Owens-
boro ; Priscilla, who died unmarried ; ¥m. Logan, who
married Lucy Pickett Marshall ; Milton, who married
Mary Breckinridge, daughter of Rev. Wm. L. Breckin-
ridge ; and Rose, who married Dr. Stanhope Breckinridge,
a brother of the above Mary Breckinridge. Dr. William
L. Breckinridge, the father of Mary and Dr. Stanhope,
was one of the distinguished sons of Hon. John Breckin-
ridge, the attorney-general. His wife was a Miss Prevost,
whose father, Judge Prevost, was the son of Mrs. Aaron
Burr, by her first husband — a British officer. Mrs. Breck-
inridge's mother was a daughter of Dr. Samuel Stanhope
Smith, the able and learned president of Princeton Col-
lege.
Wm. Logan McKnight
graduated with credit at Center College in the class of
1843, and was made master of arts in 1846. He soon
abandoned the law to engage in mercantile business in
New Orleans, where he was also the faithful agent of the
Bank of Kentucky. In these pursuits, before his early
death ere he had reached his prime he had accumulated
a handsome fortune, which was, in large part, swept away
by the calamities of war. Commercial pursuits did not
dull his elegant and cultivated tastes, nor diminish an en-
thusiastic interest in all public questions. A fine linguist,
a critical reader of poetry, an admirer and patron of art,
in political discussion he wielded the pen with the hand of
a master. In any community, he would have been a man
of note. In New Orleans, his engaging manners, amiable
temper, and generosity made him universally beloved, as
his high character, blameless life, and acquirements made
him as universally respected. The woman whom he married
could not be called "accomplished;" the free play some-
168 Historic Families of Kentucky.
times given to a cutting wit may occasionally have carried
her out of the lists of the "amiable;" hut she was one of
generous impulses, had an uncommonly extensive ac-
quaintance with hooks, in conversation was sparkling and
brilliant ; — a woman of undoubted talent, a loving wife and
daughter, the most self-sacriticing of mothers, and a sin-
cere Christian. Her parents were first cousins. Her
mother was Eliza Colston — second daughter of Captain
Thomas Marshall and Frances Kennan; — a woman of ma-
jestic appearance, noble intellect, lofty character, and a
dignity in bearing that never unbent; a woman who loved
the truth for its own sake, could not patiently listen to ex-
aggeration even in jest, and abhorred all manner of false-
hood. Mrs. Lucy Pickett McKnight's father,
Martin Pickett Marshall,
was the son of Charles Marshall — one of the sons of Col-
onel Thomas Marshall — perhaps the most brilliant of that
brainy brood; an able lawyer, who, dying in his thirty-
ninth year, had already reached the head of his profession
1 n Virginia, The mother of Martin P. Marshall was
Lucy, daughter of Martin Pickett and Lucy Blackwell.
Martin Pickett was a successful and wealthy merchant of
Fauquier county, a member of the Virginia convention of
1776, frequently a member of the House of Burgesses, and
in the Revolution an outspoken and active patriot. One
of the daughters of Martin Pickett married Judge Scott —
grandson of Rev. James. Scott already mentioned — and
was the mother of the distinguished Robert E. Scott, of
Fauquier. Colonel Charles Marshall, of General Lee's
staff, and now a prominent lawyer of Baltimore, is a
nephew of Martin P. Marshall. The latter passed his
boyhood in the family of his uncle, Chief Justice Marshall,
and under his instruction. At the age of eighteen years,
he came to Mason county, Kentucky, and completed his
legal studies under his uncle, Alexander K. Marshall. He
practiced for a few years with success in Paris, Kentucky,
and in Cincinnati, attracting attention by his popular tal-
ents as well as by his acute legal acumen. Ill health
The 'Logans. 169
forcing him to abandon a profession for whose highest
walks he was admirably adapted, he retired to a large
body of land he had inherited in Fleming county, cleared
and improved it, built upon it a spacious mansion — long
the seat of hospitality — and in the life of a farmer was as
successful as he had been at the bar. Agriculture did not
monopolize his time. His father and twin-brother, "Will-
iam, had owned many thousands of acres of land in Pen-
dleton and the mountain counties, upon which persons
having no legal right had settled ; in recovering possession
of these lands, and in discharging the duties of county
attorney, he was frequently before the courts, winning a
reputation for legal knowledge, shrewdness, and tact sec-
ond to that of no other in Northern Kentucky. In 1825,
he was the able representative of Fleming county in the
state legislature. In 1835, he was the Whig candidate for
Congress against Judge Richard French — the most astute
and dextrous Democratic politician then in the state. In
that mountain district, there were thousands of disputed
land titles, and many hundreds of voters occupying lands
to which they had neither legal nor moral claim. The su-
periority of Marshall to his opponent upon the stump was
apparent wherever they met ; — no one was superior to
Judge French as an electioneerer. Richer in resources,
more powerful in debate, as an orator more eloquent, Mr.
Marshall towered above his wily antagonist in every dis-
cussion. The Democrats grew alarmed. Shortly before
the election, scandalous circulars were distributed misrep-
resenting Mr. Marshall's conduct in the land litigation into
which he had been forced, imputing to him as an offense
the ability with which he had maintained his own and
others' rights. He was defeated. Logic, rhetoric, decla-
mation, wit ; — all went down before the power of organiza-
tion and secret slander. Mr. Marshall was three times a
presidential elector — in 1832, '36, and '40. He was a
Whig, and canvassed his district in these several cam-
paigns. At this period of his life, he was an electrical
public speaker. With the small, well-shaped feet, and
long, slender hands of the Picketts, he had their thrift,
170 Historic Families of Kentucky.
practical sense, and their wit, bright, flashing, and keen as
the forked lightning. He excelled in powers of withering
sarcasm. A little above the medium height, his person
was slender and well formed; his manners, when he chose,
conciliatory. His eye was a dark hazel, with an iris that
dilated or contracted, and, when animated, was bright
and piercing. His forehead was not high, nor very broad,
but widest at the eyes, square and compact, and brow very
prominent. His mobile face gave expression to the alter-
nation in his moods, to the shifting current of his ideas;
changing from gay to grave, from the humorous to bitter
scorn, and again to impressive earnestness, as he kindled
with his own zeal in the discussion of his topic. His de-
livery was animated, his gesticulation vehement, his voice
full and resonant. In 1850, Mr. Marshall was a member
of the constitutional convention. In that body he favored
an open clause permitting future emancipation of the
slaves, and opposed the system of an elective judiciary.
In 1861, the Union men of Mason and Lewis counties
elected him to the state senate. The story of the Union
cause in the commonwealth is that of his career. All his
life he was a man of sense, sagacity, and weight, impressed
himself upon the community in which he lived, and in
public affairs made himself felt.
Another daughter of Judge William Logan and Pris-
cilla Wallace, Rosa, married Mr. Nourse, of Bardstown.
Rev. Win. Logan JSTourse, of the Presbyterian Church, is
one of her sons, and the widow of Joseph Wilson, a late
member of the Louisville bar, is one of her daughters.
The youngest daughter of Judge William Logan — Jane —
was the wife of the late Jordan Clark, long the clerk of
the Louisville Chancery Court. Her oldest daughter,
Anna, married Wm. L., son of the Rev. Wm. L. Breck-
inridge ; and her oldest son, Wm. L. Clark, was an
officer in the Confederate army.
John Logan,
the second son of General Benjamin Logan and Anne
Montgomery, was born and reared in Lincoln county, was
The Logans. 171
well educated at the* best schools in Kentucky, and became
one of her foremost lawyers. Shelby county, which had
previously been represented by his father and other rela-
tives for years, sent John Logan to the. state house of rep-
resentatives from 1815 to 1825, continuously, with the ex-
ception of the assembly of 1822, when he gave way to his
elder brother, William. Other honors were awaiting him,
when his prosperous career at the "bar and as a legislator
was cut short by death, in the first days of January, 1826,
before he had yet attained the full height of his powers.
His person was imposing and handsome, the quality of his
mind strong and clear rather than showy. His wife, Anna
C, was a daughter of Colonel Richard Clough Anderson,
who had won the rank of major by gallantry in the army
of the Revolution, who was made surveyor-general of the
North-western Territory, and who, settling at " Soldiers'
Retreat," in Jefferson county, there reared a notable
progeny of sons and daughters.
The Andersons.
The first of this family known to have settled in Vir-
ginia were two brothers, Robert and David Anderson, na-
tives of Scotland, who found homes in Hanover county
near the close of the seventeenth century. Robert mar-
ried Mary Overton. Their son, Robert, married Eliza-
beth, daughter of Richard Clough, a native of Wales,
whose wife was Cecilia Massie. The seventh child of the
second Robert Anderson and Elizabeth Clough was the
gallant patriot soldier of the Revolution, Colonel Richard
Clough Anderson, of " Soldiers' Retreat." He was born
in Hanover county, Virginia, January 12, 1750. Tradi-
tions cherished by his children relate that he and John
Marshall were rival suitors for the hand of Mary Willis,
the daughter of Jacquelin Ambler. His rival being pre-
ferred, he married, January 15, 1785, Elizabeth, sister of
General George Rogers Clarke. By this wife, he was the
father of the wife of John Logan, and of the gifted Rich-
ard C. Anderson, Jr., a popular and highly-esteemed
member of the legislature, for a number of years, from
172 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Jefferson county ; a distinguished member of Congress for
four years, then speaker of the Kentucky House of Repre-
sentatives ; and who, when he died, in 1826, was the first
minister from the United States to the Republic of Co-
lombia. In this latter place, he was succeeded by General
¥m. II. Harrison, his own and his father's friend. The
second wife of Colonel Richard Clough Anderson, to
whom he was married September 17, 1797, was Sarah
Marshall, the daughter of Colonel William Marshall, an
early settler in Henry county. This Colonel William Mar-
shall was a son of William Marshall, — an elder brother of
John, the father of Colonel Thomas. Marshall. The wife
of Colonel William Marshall was Ann McLeod, daughter
of Torquil McLeod, whose wife was Ann Clarke, a sister of
the father of General George Rogers Clarke. Colonel Will-
iam Marshall was the great-grandfather of Wm. S. Pryor,
Chief Justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. He was the
grandfather also of the first wife of the late Judge James
Pryor, of Covington. Colonel William Marshall had a sis-
ter who married a Durrett, and was the ancestress of the
family of that name in Mason; of Judge Stockton, Chief
Justice of Iowa; of the w T ives of George S. and Charles
M. Fleming and of the late Steele Andrews, of Fleming
county. By his second marriage with Sarah Marshall,
Colonel R. C. Anderson was the father of the hero of Fort
Sumter, General Robert Anderson; of the late Larz An-
derson, of Cincinnati ; of the brilliant orator, Colonel
Charles Anderson, of Kuttawa ; and of the late William
Marshall Anderson, of Chillicothe, Ohio. Jno. Logan and
Ann C. Anderson were the parents of six children. Their
oldest son,
John Allen Logan,
born March 12, 1812, was a man of ability, and a success-
ful lawyer in Shelby county. In 1850, he was in the ill-
fated expedition of Lopez to overthrow the domination of
the cruel, treacherous Spaniard in Cuba. Desperately
wounded in the battle of Cardenas, on the 19th of May,
1850, and borne to the ship " Creole" in the arms of the
accomplished and chivalrous John T. Pickett and of the
The Logans. 173
knightly Thomas T. Hawkins, he died the next day, and
his body was committed to the deep. " Buried at sea, May
20, 1850," is the brief inscription on the monument of a
man who was fitted to have been useful to his state, an
honor to his name, and who merited a better fate.
The Cardenas Expedition
was the first that ever sailed from the United States in the
interest of the Republicans of Cuba. The expeditionary
force consisted of three battalions, which left the port of
New Orleans in May, 1850. Don Narcisso Lopez (lately
second in military command on the island) was com-
mander-in-chief; A. J. Gonzalez was chief of staff; and
the three battalions were under the immediate command
of Colonels Thomas T. Hawkins, Theodore O'Hara, and
John T. Pickett. The first was a member of a family
which has been conspicuous in Virginia since its coloniza-
tion, and in Kentucky since its redemption from the wil-
derness. The second, son of the scholarly teacher, Kean
O'Hara, was no less celebrated for his fine genius as a poet
than for his daring as a soldier. The third was the son of
the accomplished Colonel James C. Pickett, distinguished
for his successful diplomatic career in Colombia and Bo-
livia, and whose wife was the daughter of the brave Gov-
ernor Desha. The son, John T. Pickett, had left West
Point to accept a diplomatic appointment under President
Polk. William II. Russell, the war correspondent of the
"London Times," who met John T. Pickett in later life,
described him as "a tall, good-looking man, of pleasant
manners, and well educated. . . . He threw himself
into the cause of the South with vehemence ; it was not
difficult to imagine he saw in that cause the realization of
the dreams of empire in the South of the Gulf, and in the
conquest of the islands of the sea, which have such a fas-
cinating influence over the imagination of a large portion
of the American people." The Washington correspond-
ent of the " New York Sun," under date of November 18,
1873, said of him: "He is a striking looking man, fully
six feet two inches in height, with a knightly appearance
174 Historic Families of Kentucky.
and demeanor, which bring to mind the men of the six-
teenth century." The material of the three battalions
was composed of the flower of Kentucky and the South,
whose ardent natures had been outraged by the wrongs of
Spanish rule in Cuba. They rendezvoused at Yucatan,
and, crowding the whole command aboard the steamer
" Creole," safely ran the gauntlet past Havana, and ef-
fected a landing on the coast near Cardenas. Their plan
was to dash into Matanzas, forty miles by rail, before sun-
rise. Matanzas was a populous Creole city, prepared to
pronounce in favor of the Republic, and on board the
steamer " Creole " were a number of leading young men
who were natives of that place. Every thing being in
readiness, Colonel Pickett was the first to land with a de-
tachment of sixty men. It was about three o'clock in the
morning when Pickett and his small command passed
through Cardenas, carrying with them a civic watchman
to prevent an alarm, to the railway depot, on the opposite
side of the town, where they seized the road and its stock,
and before daylight had three locomotives fired up, and
transportation provided for the entire command. A
rocket had been agreed upon as the signal, but, instead
of the main body responding to the signal when given, it
became engaged with the little garrison of the town, and
thus frustrated the original plan of the campaign. Col-
onel Pickett waited until near sunset for the main body,
and then issued an order to return, and, if possible, to re-
join the command under Lopez, which w T as falling back
with a view of re-embarking for a new landing. They
had scarcely re-entered the town, however, when the re-
united commands were vigorously attacked by the Span-
ish troops which had been encamped in the healthy high
lands about nine miles distant, and which were under the
command of a major-generul of the Spanish army. Two
of the superior officers of the invading force having been
disabled in the morning, the command during the engage-
ment devolved upon Colonel Pickett, who, after a heavy
fight, succeeded in repulsing the Spaniards, and in effect-
ing an orderly retreat to the coast. They re-embarked on
The Logans. 175
the " Creole," but had scarcely left the harbor of Cardenas
before the Spanish war steamer " Pizarro " came after
them in hot pursuit, giving the " Creole " a long chase,
and a stern chase, first to Key West, and thence to the
harbor of ]^e\v Orleans. A council of war was held, in
the midst of which a pistol fell, and, going off, the ball
passed through the leg ot Colonel Hawkins. Without the
movement or twitching of a muscle to betray the pain he
felt, he sat still until the determination was reached, in
case they were overtaken to grapple with and board the
enemy, and if overpowered to blow up the " Creole," and
destroy themselves and the Spaniard together; his asso-
ciates had no suspicion that he had been wounded until the
council had adjourned. The " Pizarro " was in full sight
when the " Creole " touched the pier. "What shall we
do, Colonel, if she overtakes us?" was the anxious inquiry
made by the men of Pickett during the pursuit. " Grap-
ple and board her with cutlasses," was the imperturbable
response. Thus ended the disastrous expedition in which
the gallant Logan fell; — such were the companions by
whom he was loved and honored.
John A. Logan represented Shelby county in the legis-
lature in 1839. He married, in 1837, Rebecca M. Bristow.
Of their five children, but one survives, Dr. Richard F.
Logan, of Shelby ville, a surgeon in the Union army dur-
ing the war. The latter married Lucy Lemon, daughter
of Samuel Lemon, of Louisville. Dr. Richard F. Logan
and his son, Ben., a boy of fifteen years, are the only liv-
ing male descendants of General Ben. Logan in the male
line, and bearing the name.
John Logan and Ann C. Anderson had a daughter,
Elizabeth, who married a Simpson and is dead. Their
daughter, Sarah Jane Logan, married James F. Gamble,
and now resides in Louisville, with her daughter, Mrs.
Jane Rogers. Another daughter of James F. Gamble and
Sarah Jane Logan married Mr. J. H. Lindenburger, the
banker, of Louisville. Several sons of Mrs. Gamble live
in Chicago.
The fourth son of General Ben. Logan and Anne Mont-
176 Historic Families of Kentucky.
gomery bore his name, was born in Lincoln county, Janu-
ary 3, 1789, was well educated for a physician, and suc-
cessfully practiced that profession in Shelby; was a sur-
geon in the War of 1812, participated in the battle of the
River Raisin, and was there captured; represented Shelby
■county in the legislature in 1818, at the same time with
his brother John ; and died in that county, March 19, 1873,
after having- enjoyed the respect of the community during
an honorable life of eighty-four years.
After the death of the father of Colonel William Craw-
ford (the commander of the ill-fated expedition against
Sandusky, and who was tortured to death by his Indian
captors), his mother married Richard Stephenson, and had
by the latter a troop of stalwart boys and several fine
daughters. One of the Stephenson girls married a Penn-
sylvanian named Pressly Lane, who settled in Shelby
county. Another, Polly Stephenson, married Dr. John
Knight, who was the surgeon of Crawford's expedition,
was captured with that unfortunate officer, and, like him,
was reserved for the torture, but made his escape by at-
tacking with a club the Indian who had him in charge.
This Dr. Knight also settled in Shelby, which county he
frequently represented in the legislature. One of his
daughters married a Hall, and was the mother of the wife
of Wallace McDowell, and the grandmother of John Hall
McDowell, who died in Selma, Alabama, in 1865. Still
another of the Stephenson girls, Eifie, half-sister of Col-
onel Crawford, married General Joseph Winlock, who
settled in Shelby, represented the county in the legis-
lature, was a useful and influential citizen, and a valiant
soldier. Dr. Winlock, the professor at Harvard, was a
descendant of General Winlock. One of the daugh-
ters of General Joseph Winlock — Effie Stephenson Win-
lock — married Dr. Ben. Logan. Their only son — James
Knox Logan — died unmarried. One of their daughters,
Ann Logan, was the second wife of Judge Z. Wheat, of
the court of appeals, Avhose first wife was her kinswoman,
and daughter of Judge Ben Monroe. Another daughter
of Dr. Ben. Logan — Eliza — married Dr. Robert Glass ;
The Logans. 177
and one of their daughters married Rev. Robert Clelland, a
Presbyterian minister, while another daughter, Lizzie
Glass, married Captain Bacon, of the United States army.
Polly Logan, daughter of Dr. Ben., married her kinsman,
William P. Monroe. Another daughter of Dr. Ben. Logan,
Effie, married W. W. Gardiner, a state senator during
the war, and a man of talent. The descendants of Dr.
Logan are many, and every-where are reputable and
worthy.
Robert Logan, fifth and youngest son of General Ben.
Logan, was a soldier in the War of 1812, in the regiment
commanded by Colonel John Allen, and was killed at the
Raisin, where also fell the heroic Allen, whose wife, Jane
Logan, was the oldest daughter of General Logan and
Anne Montgomery.
The Hardins.
The second daughter of General Logan and Anne Mont-
gomery — Elizabeth Logan — married the celebrated Martin
D. Hardin ; the union of the blood of the Logans with
that of the Hardins was singularly appropriate. All
through the records of the French and Indian wars, and of
the campaigns with the Indians that followed, the name of
Hardin is found among the soldiers — John, Mark, and
Martin, their Christian names. Martin lived in Fauquier,
in humble circumstances, and there his son John was
born, in 1753. Thence Martin removed to the Mononga-
hela, about the year 1765. John, though but twelve years
of age, was already skilled in the use of arms. From
hunting the deer and bear, he was called, before he had
yet passed his boyhood, to take part in repelling Indian
forays and in avenging their victims. In Dunmore's cam-
paign, he was ensign of a militia company. Under Cap-
tain Zack Morgan the ensuing August he won an enviable
distinction, and was desperately wounded in battle. The
Revolution commenced just as he had prepared to come to
Kentucky. Recruiting a body of sharpshooters, he joined
the Continental army as a second lieutenant, was soon
promoted and attached to the rifle-corps of General
12
178 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Daniel Morgan. With this force he served until Decem-
ber, 177D, winning the respect of Morgan and the intrepid
Colonel Richard Butler, by whom he was frequently in-
trusted with the most perilous commissions. Having re-
signed his office, in 1780 he came to Kentucky and lo-
cated lands, and in 1786 removed his family to what is
now the county of Washington. Henceforward, his his-
tory is that of the district. In every expedition against
the Indians, except that of St. Clair (which a wound pre-
vented him from joining), he had an active part, and held
high command. He and James McDowell, as majors,
commanded the battalions under Wilkinson. In 1792, he
was sent by Wilkinson with overtures of peace to the In-
dians. If that arch-plotter expected him to return alive,
he was the only person who did. That Hardin himself
anticipated his fate is certain; but his gallant spirit could
not refuse to obey an order which no one else was hardy
enough to execute. He was murdered by the Indians
with whom he had encamped, not far from Fort Defiance.
His wife was -lane Daviess. They had six children, of
whom the late Mark Hardin, of Shelby, was one. The
wife of Rev. Barnabas McHenry was one of their daugh-
ters, — the mother of Judge John H. McHenry, of Daviess,
and grandmother of* Hon. Henry I). McHenry, of Ohio
county, and Colonel John II. McHenry, of Owensboro.
Lydia, sister of Colonel John Hardin, was the mother of
Robert, Charles A., and Nathaniel Wiekliffe. The mother
of Ben Hardin was another sister, and his father a cousin.
No family in Kentucky has been more noted for the intel-
lectuality of its members, nor has the state ever had a
more courageous breed. The oldest son of Colonel John
Hardin and Jane Daviess was Martin, who added the D.,
to distinguish him from others of the same given name.
Kentucky had no abler lawyer; his race no brainier nor
truer son. He was, indeed, a remarkably able man. He
represented Franklin county in the legislature in 1812,
'18, '10; was secretary of state under Shelby, 1812-16; a
United States senator, 1816, '17; a reporter for the court
of appeals, 1808. Martin D. Hardin was one of the ma-
The Logans. . 179
jors of Colonel Allen's regiment at the Raisin; George
Madison, the other. Hardin was in the fight outside of
the stockades; among the fallen there was not a better
soldier. He died in 1823, in his forty-third year. One of
the daughters of Martin D. Hardin and Elizabeth Logan
married A. R. Mclvee, a brother of the colonel of the regi-
ment "orphaned" at Buena Vista. Another daughter
married Dr. Mark Chinn, who, after graduating at Tran-
sylvania, removed to Illinois. One of Dr. Chinn' s daugh-
ters married her kinsman, W. H. Stuart, of Shelbyville.
A son of M. D. Hardin — Charles Hardin — settled at Jack-
sonville, Illinois. The oldest son of Martin D. Hardin
and Elizabeth Logan — John J. Hardin — was one of the
pupils at the famed academy of Dr. Louis Marshall, in
Woodford county, and left it with the respect of that most
exacting of teachers. After a creditable course in the
academies, he graduated in the collegiate department and
law school of Transylvania University, and then removed
to Illinois, where he engaged in the practice of the law,
for which his talents were peculiarly adapted. Without
being brilliant, he had strong sense, clear and discrimina-
ting judgment; the personification of integrity of the
highest order ; the embodiment of knightly honor and
chivalry; possessed of an energy that never flagged; with
manners at once kind, grave, and dignified; — his force of
mind and character soon placed him abreast of the first in
his profession, while his manly virtues Avon the respect
and love of those with whom his lot was cast. Independ-
ence in fortune came to him as the reward of his labor.
To the Congress of 1843-45, the Whigs sent him as the
successor of his kinsman, John T. Stuart; he was himself
succeeded by E. D. Baker, afterward a distinguished sena-
tor from the Pacific slope, a gallant soldier who fell at
Ball's Bluff; and Baker was succeeded b} r Abraham Lin-
coln, whose wife was a kinswoman of both Stuart and
Hardin. The latter had taken an active part in the Black
Hawk War; had for years been general in chief of the
militia of Illinois, and having a natural taste and aptitude
for the science of arms, had been a close student of mili-
180 Historic Families of Kentucky.
tary tactics. As a Whig Congressman, lie had opposed
the annexation of Texas. When his name was urged for
a commission as brigadier-general in the Mexican War,
his political antecedents insured the refusal of the appoint-
ment by Polk. Yet the first regiment raised in Illinois
for that war was recruited by John J. Hardin, who was
chosen as fittest to command ; the colonel of the sec-
ond was Bissell, also an ex-congressman. Placed under
the especial charge of Colonel Churchill, of the regular
army, whose rigid discipline was enforced by Hardin and
Bissell, these two regiments rapidly acquired the steadi-
ness under fire and the precision in movement of regulars
and veterans. They rendezvoused at Alton, where they
were found by Wool, prepared and in splendid condition
for his expedition against Chihuahua. In July, of 1846,
the} T were embarked for New Orleans ; thence by steamer
to Lavaca; and from the latter place, on the 11th of Au-
gust, began their famous march under General Wool, who
commanded the Army of the Center. How this force was
united to that of General Taylor, and how the latter, who
had become too conspicuous by his triumphs at Palo Alto,
Pesaca de la Palma, and Monterey, was stripped of the
greater part of his army, and nearly all of his regulars, in
order that they might swell the forces of General Scott,
moving on the City of Mexico from another direction, is a
part of the history of Polk's administration. The exulta-
tion with which the invincible warrior turned to the Illi-
noisans, under Hardin and Bissell ; to the Kentuckians,
under McKee, Clay, and Marshall ; to the Mississippians,
under Davis and McClung; and, with clenched hand and
set teeth, exclaimed, " These are my regulars ! " will not
be forgotten while the memory of their heroism at Buena
Vista lives. There the gallant Hardin proved the character-
istics of his race and sealed his patriotic devotion with his
life's blood. The story of the battle is too familiar to require
repetition. Yet those who honor the brave men who fell on
Angostura's plain, will not weary of the recital which tells
how, when the Indianians had given back, and in their dis-
orderly rout had swept away with them a part of Mar-
The Logans. 181
shall's men, that Bissell's Illinoisans advanced to fill the
gap, withheld their fire, while receiving volleys from the
advancing foe, until the word was given, and then poured
out a sheet of flame which drove back the Mexicans; then,
when again the enemy came surging on, fell back to a
better position, with the precision of a dress parade, and
when their ground was reached, again turned and fired;
how Mclvee's Kentuekians came rushing to the front, at
double-quick up the eminence, to take their place at Bis-
sell's side ; how Hardin, who had been hotly engaged in
covering "Washington's battery, where the Mexicans had
been repulsed, passing McKee, went into action on Bis-
sell's right, his men exposed to a heavy flank fire from a
whole brigade of Mexicans who crossed the head of the
second gorge ; then, wheeling his men, led them to meet
the flank attack, lifted his sword, and shouted, "Charge
bayonets; remember Illinois" the men following, and hurl-
ing back the Mexicans into the gorge, covering the ground
with their dead, and taking many prisoners. From that
time until his fall, Colonel Hardin was continuously in
action. After Taylor had been tricked by Santa Anna's
treacherous flag of truce, and deluded by the hope that
the retrograde movement to escape a critical situation was
an utter flight, he determined to take the battery that
covered the seeming 1 retreat. Hardin was called to lead
the charge upon the belching cannon, and again shouting,
" We will take that battery; charge bayonets /" led the rush
of his regiment, followed by McKee and Clay, and a little
later by Bissell. Santa Anna, surveying the field from
an eminence, saw these gallant and devoted men as they
neared his battery, and massed his brigade to meet the
movement, in a supreme effort for the mastery. Hardin,
violently attacked by overwhelming numbers on the right
flank and in front, changed his bayonet charge to a de-
structive fire ; and McKee and Bissell coming up, the
three regiments charged together into the Mexican ranks.
The Mexicans were driven before them, their retreat ap-
parently a flight. Suddenly they rallied, and with fresh
brigades, and led by Santa Anna in person, came back,
182 Historic Families of Kentucky.
in myriads, and assailed with an avalanche of flame
and lead the handful of brave Americans struggling des-
perately in the gorge. An aide came to Hardin with an
order from Taylor to retreat. In the backward move-
ment, the edge of the second gorge had been reached — a
pit fifty feet in depth, with precipitous banks, narrow, af-
fording no chance to load and fire. The crest of this gorge
was enveloped by the Mexicans, who came pouring down its
sides in all directions, numbering more than five to one of
the brave souls who fought as best they could with club-
bed muskets. Above the roar of battle, was heard the
shout of Hardin — "Fight on ; remember Illinois." Wounded
in the thigh, and prostrated, he still shouted encourage-
ment to his men. The gallant McKee was the first to die
in this fateful struggle. The talented son and namesake
of Henry Clay had his leg shattered by musket balls, had
fallen, and had bidden his soldiers to leave him and save
themselves, when a squadron of lancers rushed upon him
and pierced him with many mortal wounds. In the act of
falling, Hardin had drawn his pistol, and with this he
made one Mexican bite the dust; another bullet struck
the hero in the neck, and five lances were run through his
body. Around them fell "Willis, Zabriskie, eight lieuten-
ants, and many men. The rear-guard, which covered the
retreat of those who dragged themselves out of the pit,
was commanded by Speed Smith Fry, of Danville. Look-
ing back, and seeing a Mexican about to pierce the body
of one of the fallen victims with his lance, he seized a
musket from a soldier, and, with unerring aim, tumbled
the savage from his saddle. General Fry always loses his
head in a speech ; he never does in a fight. The victorious
conclusion of the bloody strife was fought by the artil-
lery ; by Davis' Mississippians, with a part of the Indi-
anians; by the Kentucky and Arkansas cavalry, under
Humphrey Marshall ; and by May's dragoons.
Colonel John J. Hardin married a Miss Smith, of
Harrodsburg, who, after his death, became the wife of
Chancellor Walworth, of New York. Colonel Hardin's
daughter — Ellen Hardin Walworth — a woman of fine
The Logans. 183
talent and literary attainment, resides in Saratoga. To
her graphic account of the battle of Buena Vista, in the
" Magazine of American History," for 1879, the writer is
indebted for many of the details above recited. Her ac-
count is the most interesting that has ever been published.
Colonel John J. Hardin's oldest son — Martin 1). Hardin —
graduated with credit at West Point, entered the regular
army, and, in the civil war, by distinguished gallantry in
battle won the rank and command of a brigadier-general —
one of the youngest in the service, in which he lost an arm,
and received many wounds. He belonged to the fifth gen-
eration of a race of soldiers. General Hardin is now a
lawyer in Quiney, Illinois. After the death of Martin D.
Hardin, Elizabeth Logan married Porter Clay, a brother
of the orator, and for many years register of the Kentucky
land office. She died in Illinois, at an advanced age.
The Wickliffes.
Ann, the youngest daughter of General Ben Logan and
Anne Montgomery, married the late Nathaniel Wickliffe,
of Bardstown. His mother was Lydia Hardin, a sister to
Colonel John Hardin. Robert Wickliffe, Sr., of Lexing-
ington, and Hon. Charles A. Wickliffe, Governor of Ken-
tucky, postmaster-general, and congressman — both men
of force and brain — were his brothers. Less distinguished
than either of these, Nathaniel Wickliffe was a man of
sense and weight, a good lawyer, who exerted influence in
the community. He was for a long time clerk of the
Circuit Court of Nelson. That county was twice repre-
sented in the legislature by his son, Robert Logan Wick-
liffe. Another son, Charles, graduated with honor at
West Point; had the misfortune to kill his antagonist in
a duel; and at Shiloh was killed at the head of the Con-
federate regiment of which he was colonel. A third son,
Nathaniel, a man of refined and delicate beauty, and gen-
tle manners, also fell in the Confederate ranks, on a hard-
fought field. The youngest son, John D. Wicklitfe, was
an officer of cavalry in the Union army. The daughters
of Nathaniel Wickliffe and Ann Logan intermarried with
184 Historic Families of Kentucky.
the families of Nourse, "Wilson, Halstead, and Muir, of
whom there arc many and highly reputable descendants.
Colonel John Logan.
Scarcely less active and prominent than his elder
brother in all the stirring events of the early settlement
of Kentucky, was the second (or he may have been the
third) of the four Logan brothers who came to the dis-
trict — John Logan. He was a private soldier in the Bou-
quet expedition, in the company of which the elder
brother was sergeant. When Benjamin left their mother
on a farm in the forks of the James river, in the care of
another brother, John went with him to the Holston, and
was one of the earliest of the pioneers of that region, as
he afterward became of Kentucky. lie was a non-com-
missioned officer in his brother's company on Dunmore's
campaign. To Kentucky he came in 1776, settling in
Lincoln county. In August, 1778, he was with Boone,
Kenton, Holder, and sixteen others, in the Paint Creek
expedition to surprise an Indian town ; helped to rout a
band of Indians of double their own number; and finding
the town evacuated, and ascertaining that a large force had
gone to attack the Kentucky settlements, made a rapid
march homeward, passing the Indian army undiscovered,
and got back in time to aid in the defense of Boonesboro
against the siege of Duqnesne. When his brother's com-
pany was first formally organized at St. Asaph s, he was
its lieutenant, and had a conspicuous part in all its enter-
prises. In Bowman's expedition, in 1779, he commanded
that company (which rendezvoused at Lexington, with
Levi Todd's and John Holder's), and had a part in fight-
ing at its head, at the Indian town, and on the retreat.
Later, he was in Clarke's expedition, as well as in that of
General Logan in 1786. In 1787, he commanded the ex-
pedition against the Cherokees, of Tennessee, to avenge
the murder of Luttrell, in Lincoln county, where he was
second under his In-other in military rank. Calling his
militia together, he went with them to the house where
the outrage had been perpetrated, discovered the route
The Logans. 185
the Indians had taken, followed their trail for several days
until he had entered the Indian territory beyond the Cum-
berland, finally overtook and attacked them with vigor,
routing them, and retaking all their plunder. These In-
dians had entered into a treaty with Congress two years
before and this they had violated by the incursion. Yet
those who had escaped from Logan complained that he
had violated it by entering into the territory and attack-
ing peaceable Indians. The Indian agent represented the
affair accordingly to the governor of Virginia, who di-
rected Harry Innes, then the attorney-general for Ken-
tucky, to prosecute Logan and his party, which he, avail-
ing himself of the indirectness of the order, refused to
do. — [Littell.'] It was in 1781 that he was appointed lien-
tenant-colonel of the first regiment of militia ever organ-
ized in Lincoln county. Stephen Trigg succeeded Ben.
Logan as the colonel. Afterward, John Logan was col-
onel of the same regiment, and reported its number to the
governor of Virginia as over eight hundred soldiers. He
hurried to join Todd and Trigg at the Bine Licks, but
the disaster had occurred before his men could reach the
field. Xor was he less prominent in civil than in military
affairs. The record shows that he was a member of the
first court ever organized in Kentucky, at llarrodsburg, in
1781. The name of every member of that court has
passed into history as that of a true man and soldier. Of
the thirteen of its legal members, two had already fallen
in battle; and of the eleven who sat, three fell within the
following seventeen months. — [Collins^] He was three
times sent to the Virginia General Assembly from Lincoln
county before Kentucky became a state. In the discuss-
ions that molded public sentiment in the rising common-
wealth, and in the deliberative bodies that led to its estab-
lishment, he had an influential voice. With his elder
brother and Shelby, he represented Lincoln county in the
Danville convention of 1787; and was the associate of
1 Larry Innes, from Franklin county, in the convention of
1799, that framed the second state constitution. One of
the fourteen members from Kentucky in the Virginia
186 Historic Families of Kentucky.
convention that had under consideration the adoption of
the federal constitution, he felt it his duty to vote with
ten others against its adoption. It was fortunate, indeed,
that the much villified Humphrey Marshall was there, too,
as one o\' the members from Fayette. From 1792 to 1795,
John Logan' was the senator from Lincoln. This fad
did not prevent his appointment by Governor Shelby as
the first treasurer of Kentucky, which office he continued
to hold through successive administrations for more than
sixteen years. In 1792, he was one of the electors of the
senate from Lincoln, his associates being his elder brother,
Isaac Shelby and Thomas Todd. It need not be added
that he was a man of strong intellect, an active and fear-
less soldier, of the most incorruptible integrity, sincerely
religious, of unblemished life, simple tastes, and unassum-
ing manners. Residing at Frankfort from the time the
seat of government was removed from Lexington to that
place, his official position brought him in constant contact?
while his strong personal qualities promoted intimate as-
sociation, with the best and foremost men in the state.
Without classical training, even wanting in a thorough
English education, his native mental force was such as to
fill the high standard of Dr. Louis Marshall, who, after
his death, in a tribute to his memory bore testimony to
the excellence of his character, and to his superior intel-
lectual abilities. Scrupulously faithful to the obligations
of the public trust confided to his hands,, they occupied
his time to the exclusion of his private interests; so that
thousands of acres of rich lands were lost to his family by
sheer inattention.
The McClures.
The wife of Colonel .John Logan was .lane McClure, of
the same Scotch-Irish race from which he himself had
sprung; descended from a family, which, like his own, had
been among the earliest settlers in the Virginia Valley and
had been soldiers in all the Indian wars; — members of
which had gone early to the Ilolston, and many of whom
came with or followed their Logan connexions to Ken-
tucky. Their names are found among the officers and
The Logans. 187
soldiers who fought under Logan, Whitley, and Boyle ;
several fell victims to the hatred of the savage. One
branch of the family, which settled in Russell county, had
several members prominent in public life. The wife of
Colonel John Logan was a sister of William and Captain
Robert McClure, two of the most daring, the coolest and
most successful, of all the old Indian fighters. William
was the father of the late venerable Mrs. Jane Allen
Stuart, of Owensboro, named after the oldest daughter of
General Logan, and was the grandfather of Judge James
Stuart of that place. A daughter of one of these pioneer
McClures ran away with and married a young Irishman
named Carlisle, a sprightly clerk in a country store. She
was not heard of by her family for many years. The late
Robert McClure Carlisle, of Kenton., was her son ; the
able speaker of the house of representatives in Congress,
Hon. John Griffin Carlisle, is her grandson.. The latter,
though not himself of the Logan blood, has sought to
perpetuate, in the name of his son, the recollection of the
connexion of the families.
Mary, the oldest daughter of Colonel John Logan and
Jane McClure, married Otho Holland Beatty, a brother of
the late Judge Adam Beatty, of Mason county, and uncle
of the learned Dr. Ormond Beatty, so long the president
of Centre College. They lived in Frankfort ; had two
children — Cornelius and Sarah Ann. After the death of
Mr. Beatty, Mary Logan married James Blain, and had
by him three other children — John Logan Blain, Cath-
erine, and Mary. The son married a granddaughter of
Judge Lines — a daughter of John Morris, of Frankfort.
Catherine married Mr. Holton, and for many years re-
sided in Frankfort.
The Ballengers.
Jane, the second daughter of Colonel John Logan and
Jane McClure, married Joseph Ballenger, of Lincoln
county. This Mr. Ballenger was probably the man who
captured the infamous Harpes, in 1794, and lodged them
in the jail at Stanford. He and Jane Logan had live
children. Their son, Napoleon B., and daughter, Nancy,
188 Historic Families of Kentucky.
never married. Their son, John Logan Ballenger, married
a Miss Paxton. By reference to a former page, it will be
seen that John Paxton married Martha Blair. Their son,
Captain John Paxton, a Revolutionary soldier (he died
from a wound in the head received at Guilford), married
Phoebe Alexander, of Rockbridge. (Captain John Pax-
ton was a brother of the James Paxton who married
Phoebe McClung, and was the father of James A. Pax-
ton, who married Maria Marshall. He was a brother also
of the Isabella Paxton who married Captain John Lyle,
and was the mother of Mary Paxton Lyle, who married
Colonel James McDowell.) A third John Paxton, son of
Captain John and Phoebe Alexander, moved to Lincoln
county, and there married Elizabeth Logan, daughter of
John Logan (who came to Kentucky from Botetourt) and
Ann McClure; this John Logan, of Botetourt, was a
cousin of General Ben. and Colonel John Logan. William
Paxton, son of the John who was wounded at Guilford,
and brother of the above third John, also moved to Lin-
coln, and there married Nancy Logan, another daughter
of John Logan, of Botetourt. It was a daughter of
William Paxton and Nancy Logan — Mary Anne Pax-
ton, who became the wife of John Logan Ballenger.
The latter was a lawyer by profession, a member of
the legislature from Lincoln in 1844, and a member of
the constitutional convention in 1850. About the year
1856, he removed to Texas, and during the war he
died there, an outspoken, uncompromising Union man.
His sons, Wm. P., John L., and James Ballenger, live at
Honey Grove, Texas ; Joseph Paxton Ballenger, a lawyer
of Paris, Texas, lost an arm in the Confederate service.
Jennie married Dr. Ed. Dailey, and lives at Honey Grove,
as do also Nannie and Lucy, both married.
The Davidsons.
Joseph Ballenger's daughter, Lucretia, married Colonel
Michael Davidson, of Lincoln, a son of George Davidson,
who represented the county in the legislature from 1799
to 1802 — four successive terms. Colonel Michael David-
The Logans. 189
son represented Lincoln in the house in 1816 and in 1828;
and in the senate, 1836-40. He was an officer in the War
of 1812 — a plain, modest man, a fearless one, and a good
soldier. He had six children, all of whom are dead.
Harriet Ballenger, another daughter of Joseph Ballenger
and Jane Logan, married Colonel James Davidson, the twin
"brother of Colonel Michael. James Davidson was the
senator from Lincoln from 1818 to 1826; and was for
many years the state treasurer. In the War of 1812, he
commanded a company at the battle of the Thames, which
he led into the thickest of that blooody fight. It was his
belief that a soldier of his company, named King, had
really killed Tecnmseh. lie was an unassuming, frank,
sensible, honest, ami brave man. Jane, one of the daugh-
ters of Colonel James Davidson and Harriet Ballenger,
married Captain Hary Innes Todd, of Frankfort. The
family to which this worthy man belongs should not be
confounded with that from which came the brothers, Col-
onel John and Generals Levi and Robert Todd. The former
was seated in tide-water Virginia many years before the
progenitor of the latter emigrated from Ireland to Amer-
ica — possibly before their more remote ancestor fled from
Scotland to Ireland.
The Todds, of King and Queen.
Exactly at what time the ancestor of Hary I. Todd
came to Virginia, is not certainly known. He had a large
grant of land direct from the crown. In the eighth vol-
ume of Henning's Statutes, page 631, may be found an act
of the general assembly, of date February, 1772, docking
the entail of the estate of William Todd, "gentleman"
It recites that one " Thomas Todd, formerly of the county
of Gloucester, gentleman, was in his lifetime seized of a
considerable estate in lands, and, among others, of a large
and valuable tract lying on the Mattapony river, in the
county of King and Queen, and of another tract, contain-
ing about one thousand acres, lying on the Dragon swamp,
in the parish of St. Stephen, in the said county of King
and Queen." In his " deed poll," dated 16th of March,
190 Historic Families of Kentucky.
1700, this Thomas Todd granted to his son, "William
Todd, and the heirs of his body, begotten of Martha
Yiearis, his intended wife, five hundred acres, part of his
said tract on the Mattapony river;" and by his will, of
date the 4th of March, 1723, the same Thomas Todd be-
queathed the tract on the Dragon Swamp to his sons,
Philip and Richard Todd. By the deaths of Philip and
Richard without male heirs, the whole of this estate be-
came vested in the above William Todd, son of Thomas.
From this William Todd, the elder, it descended to his
grandson by Martha Vicaris — William Todd, of King and
Queen — whose right therein was vested in George Brooke,
William Lyne, Gregory Baylor, John Tayloe Corbin, and
Richard Tunstall, as trustees, to be sold, and the proceeds
re-invested as directed. From an act, on page 57 of the
same volume of Henning, it is ascertained that the above
William Todd, the elder, died in 1730, leaving daughters,
Dorothy and Betty; grandsons, William Gordon and
Richard Barbour; and sons, Richard and Thomas Todd.
He left a very large estate in the parish of St. Thomas,
Orange county, as well as considerable possessions in King
and Queen. A large and valuable part of this property he
bequeathed to his eldest son, Richard Todd, who was the
father of the above William Todd, grandson of William
the elder, in whom the entail docked in the first statute
above mentioned had vested. This Richard Todd's wife
was Elizabeth Richards, a woman of great energy and good
intellect; William Todd, whose entail was docked in 1772,
was their oldest son, and the noted Judge Thomas Todd,
of Kentucky, their youngest. The latter is stated by Col-
lins to have been born in King and Queen county in 1765.
His father died when he was a child ; his excellent mother
soon followed to the grave. Thus orphaned at an early
age, by his guardian he was afforded opportunities for ob-
taining a good English education, and the foundation of
one in the classics. By the embarrassments of this guard-
ian, he was, while still a boy, thrown upon his own re-
sources. For a short time during the closing days of the
Revolution, he was in the army. Invited to become an
The Logans. 191
inmate of the family of his relative, Hary Innes, then re-
siding m Bedford county, he became acquainted with the
art of surveying, and attained that proficiency as a clerk,
and those methodical habits and attention to details,
which proved the foundation of future eminence. Collins
asserts that he came first to Kentucky, with the family of
Hary Innes, in 1786; McClung, who was not apt to have
erred in such a matter, that he was at Danville in 1784,
and was chosen and acted as clerk of the first convention
held at that place in that year — of the convention of dele-
gates from the militia companies, called by General Ben.
Logan, which was the forerunner of all the others. From
that time, he was clerk of all the succeeding conventions,
until the establishment of the state in 1702. lie repre-
sented Kentucky in the Virginia legislature before the
separation. In 1792, he was one of the electors of the
senate. He was the first clerk of the federal court in the
district, and upon the establishment of the court of ap-
peals, under the second constitution of 1799, he was ap-
pointed its first clerk. In 1801, he was appointed jndge
of the court of appeals, and in 1800 its chief-justice.
When the Seventh United States Circuit District was
formed, he was a] (pointed by Mr. Jefferson an Associate
Justice of the United States Supreme Court, which office
he held until his death, in 1826. Jndge Thomas Todd was
an amiable, generous man, of kind heart and popular man-
ners. That he was a man of talent and ability, and of
good professional attainments, is sufficiently evidenced by
the acceptable manner in which he discharged the duties
imposed by those high trusts. His abilities extorted the
respect, while his personal qualities won the friendship, of
John Marshall. His first wife was Elizabeth Ilarrjs, a
niece of the William Stewart who fell fighting at the Blue
Licks. She was the mother of his sons, Colonel Charles
S. and John H! Todd, and of his daughters, the first
wife of the late John II. Ilanna and Mrs. Edmund
L. Starling. The first of these — a man of imposing
manners and distinguished presence — was the confiden-
tial aide of General Harrison, by whom he was ap-
pointed minister to Russia; he married a daughter of
1!'- Historic Families of Kentucky.
Governor Shelby, and their son, Thomas, commanded a
company in the war with Mexico. Judge Todd married,
secondly, Lucy Payne, a sister of Mrs. Madison; their
mother was one of the talented Winstons. This second
wife was, when she married Judge Todd, the widow of
Major George Steptoe Washington, the youngest son of
Colonel Samuel Washington (brother of the President) by
his fourth wife. By this marriage, Judge Todd was the
father of James Madison Todd, of Frankfort. John H.Todd,
the other son of Judge Todd by his first wife — an amiable,
sensible, and fine-looking man — represented Franklin and
Owen in the legislature in 1820, '21, '22, '23. His wife
was his kinswoman, the beautiful daughter of Judge Hary
limes. They had three children — Hary I. Todd; Kitty,
who married General Thomas L. Crittenden ; and Mrs.
Wm. H. Watson. After the death of John II. Todd, his
widow became the second wife of Hon. John J. Critten-
den. The beauty of her face, the grace and charm of her
person and manners, were but the external reflection of
the loveliness of her mind and character.
Judge Ixxes.
In Scotland, the name of Lines is one of great antiquity.
Those who bore it belonged to the gentry of the kingdom,
were allied to many noble families, and, better far than
that, they had brains, honesty, and pluck, — qualities that
outlast titles, survive wealth, and are infinitely superior to
any social position that is not built upon them. The
name itself signifies an Island ; the barony of Lines, in
Moray, is an island formed by two branches of a stream
running through the estate. The hereditary knights who
owned and held it with strong arms for manv centuries
took for their surname that of the estate. They had for
their most frequent given names those of Robert, James,
and Hary. The first baronet of Lines was Sir Robert ;
the second was also Sir Robert; the third was Sir James;
the fourth was Sir Hary; the fifth was also Sir Hary; and
the oldest son of the fifth Sir Hary, also named Hary,
dying before his father, the fifth baronet was succeeded
by Sir James Innes; who, upon becoming fifth Duke of
The Logans. 193
Roxburgh, added the name of Ker to that of limes. Be-
yond the sameness of given and surnames, no fact is
known to the writer which eonneets Judge Hary (for that
is the proper way to spell it) Lines with this family, an ac-
count of whom is published in " The Scottish Nation ; " and
if the sensible people who have borne the name of Innes
in this country preserved any record or tradition of such
connexion, they have not deemed it of sufficient conse-
quence to mention. Be this as it may, it is of record that
an Episcopalian minister of high character, a man of na-
tive talent, force, and education, named Rev. Robert In-
nes, emigrated from Scotland to Virginia before the middle
of the eighteenth century ; and there married Catharine
Richards, a native of the colony. They had three sons —
Robert, a skillful and educated physician ; Hary, who
came to Kentucky; and James, the accomplished and bril-
liant attorney-general of Virginia, deemed by many the
equal of Patrick Henry in eloquence, and assuredly his
superior in acquirements. The year of Hary's birth is
stated by Collins to have been 1752. That he studied law
under the noted Hugh Rose is ascertained from the same
source. He had successfully practiced his profession in
Virginia before the Revolution. During that struggle, he
was employed as the superintendent of mines to supply
the patriot armies with the material of war. Pie came to
Kentucky first as the associate of McDowell and Wallace
as judges of the District Court of Kentucky. Thence-
forward his name is identified with every chapter of the
early history of the district and state. Among the men
who figured in the movements that led to the sepa ration
from Virginia, to the establishment of the commonwealth,
and who gave direction to her domestic polity, he was one
of the most prominent and influential. He succeeded
AValker Daniel as the attorney-general for the district;
was afterward appointed judge of the United States Dis-
trict Court, and held the latter office until his death, in
1816. Soon after arriving at the age of manhood, Judge
Innes married, in Virginia, the daughter of Colonel James
104 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Calloway, of Bedford county. The hitter was a son of
William Calloway, who was a brother of the Colonel
Richard Calloway who came to Kentucky with Boone,
helped to organize the government of Transylvania at
Boonesboro, and was killed by the Indians. William Cal-
loway was a large land-owner in Bedford, Halifax, and
other counties. His wife was a Miss Crawford. James,
his oldest son, born in 1736, served in the French and In-
dian War, was colonel of Bedford county during the
Revolution, and built the first iron-works in Virginia
above Lynchburg. Colonel James was married three
times — first, in 1756, to Sarah Tate. His oldest daughter
by this marriage, Elizabeth Calloway, was the first wife of
the distinguished Judge Hary Lines. (Colonel James had in
all only twenty-one children — twelve by his first wife, and
nine by the second, Elizabeth Early.) Judge Hary Lines
and Elizabeth Calloway had four daughters. The oldest
of these, Sarah, born in 1776, was married, in May, 1792,
to Francis Thornton, of Fall Hill, near Fredericksburg,
who was the son of Francis Thornton and Ann Thomp-
son, daughter of Rev. John Thompson by the widow oi
Governor Spottswood. This last-mentioned Francis Thorn-
ton was the son of Colonel Francis Thornton and Frances
Gregory, whose mother was Mildred Washington — the
aunt and godmother of the President. The oldest son of
Francis Thornton and Sarah Lines was the late Judge
Hary Lines Thornton, of California, whose wife was the
only sister of John J. Crittenden. Ann, the youngest
daughter of Judge Lines and Elizabeth Calloway, married
John Morris, son of William and brother of the able
Richard Morris, of Virginia. John and Ann Morris had
eleven children. The second of these, Ann, married, first,
Robert Crittenden, brother of John J., and a distinguished
congressman from Arkansas; and, second, Rev. Dr. John
Todd Edgar. Sarah, the third, married Eli Huston.
Mary, the seventh, married C. P. Bertrand, of Arkansas;
and, afterward, Captain John McDowell. Louisa, the
eighth, married John Logan Blaine, a grandson of Colonel
John Loffan.
The Logans. 195
After the death of Elizabeth Calloway, Judge limes
married Mrs. Shields, and by her was the father of the
beautiful woman who was first the wife of John H. Todd,
and then of John J. Crittenden. As already stated, her
son by her first husband, Hary Innes Todd, married Jane
Davidson. They have many children.
Mary Davidson, daughter of Colonel James and Harriet
Logan, married Reeves and then R. G. Samuel. Anna
married Finley Hays. Harriet married Tichenor. Lucy
married John N. Markham. The other children of Col-
onel James Davidson died single.
Judge Christopher Tompkins.
Theodosia, the third daughter of Colonel John Logan
and Jane McClure, is represented by contemporary de-
scription to have been a woman of comeliness and of
sprightly mind. She married Christopher Tompkins, then
a young member of the legislature from Henderson and
Muhlenburg counties. He was the son of John Tomp-
kins, a Virginian in independent circumstances, who had
emigrated to Kentucky, and settled in Fayette county, in
1794; his wife, Anne Tompkins, was his first cousin. The
oldest son of John and Anne Tompkins — Gwynn — a man
of good mind and practical ability, represented Fayette in
the legislature in 1805; while his son, Gwynn R. Tomp-
kins,* a well-read and talented lawyer, represented that
county in the same body in 1834; and Benjamin, another
son of the first Gwynn, became an eminent judge in Mis-
souri. The two daughters of John and Anne Tompkins
married, respectively, a Goodloe and John Lyle, respectable
farmers. John Lyle was a brother of Mary Paxton Lyle —
wife of Colonel James McDowell. Judge P. W. Tompkins,
of Mississippi, was the son of an elder brother of Christopher
Tompkins, who was the youngest son of John and Anne.
His father dying soon after coming to Kentucky, the boy-
hood and youth of Christopher Tompkins was passed in
the home of Hon. John Breckinridge, under whom, after
receiving an academical training, he was a student of
*The widow of Gwynn R. Tompkins is the wife of Hon. A. G.
Thurman, of Ohio.
106 Historic Families of Kentucky.
law, — the companion and friend of the oldest son of his
preceptor, the amiable, handsome, and able Joseph Cabell
Breckinridge. From these associations, soon after attain-
ing maturity he removed to Henderson, -where his suc-
cessful professional career was commenced, and from
whence he was sent to the legislature as the representa-
tive of Muhlenbnrg and Henderson, in 1805; and while at
Frankfort met his future wife. At a very early a^e, he
was appointed circuit judge of the Glasgow district and
removed to Barren county, where he continued to reside
until the end of his long and virtuous life. During his
incumbency of the judicial office, it became his melan-
choly duty to preside at the trial of, and to pass sentence
of death upon, the unfortunate John C. Hamilton for the
murder of Dr. Sanderson. Hamilton belonged to a family
to whom wealth had given social position. The proof
against him was as conclusive as circumstantial evidence
can possibly be made; not a link in the strong chain was
missing. The friends of the unhappy man, who met
death upon the gallows, always claimed that, however un-
broken the web of testimony that pointed to his guilt
and secured his conviction, he was nevertheless innocent;
and a confession alleged to have been made many years
afterward, and to which no publicity was given until many
other years after it was alleged to have been made by the
real murderer, has been asserted as a vindication of his
fame. Whether the conclusions of the jury that heard
the evidence or those of his family were correct, there
was never a question of the fairness and freedom from
prejudice of the judge who presided at the trial. In mak-
ing him their confidential friend and adviser in subsequent
troubles, the parents of the law's victim paid only a just
tribute to his character. Judge Tompkins continued to
discharge the duties of the judicial office with an ability
Which won plaudits from the best lawyers ia the state
until 1824, when lie resigned to make the race for gov-
ernor, in the memorable canvass of that year, as the can-
didate of the anti-relief party. He was opposed and
overwhelmingly defeated b} T General Joseph Desha, who
had the prestige of a well-earned military reputation, and
The Logans. 197
whose bold temper, mental vigor, and integrity in private
life, entitled him to the prominence he had won and to
the influence he had for years exerted in civil affairs.
This popular leader canvassed the state with characteristic
energy and vehemence, supplementing his zealous advo-
cacy of the measures that had been designed to relieve the
debtor class in a time of commercial distress and mone-
tary stringency, with the most bitter denunciation of
Judges Clarke, Blair, Boyle, Mills, and Owsley, who had, in
a case properly brought before them, decided these meas-
ures to be unconstitutional. The reader who is interested
in the details of the angry controversy that for several suc-
ceeding years convulsed the commonwealth, and had well
nigh culminated in civil war, will find them in the publica-
tions which relate to that exciting period ; and from these
he will ascertain that the final judgment of the people
vindicated the views calmly urged by Judge Tompkins
and the able men who concurred with him, by majorities
as conclusive as those by which they had at first con-
demned them. From the conclusion of the gubernatorial
canvass, in 1824, until his election to Congress, in 1831,
Judge Tompkins diligently applied himself to the labors
of a large and lucrative practice. In Congress, he re-
mained four years, when, upon his refusal to become a
candidate for a third term, he was appointed judge over
his former district, and held that office until his voluntary
withdrawal from all public life, at the age of sixty-seven
years. He died twelve years later, in 1854, at the ven-
erable age of seventy-nine.
The only son of Judge Tompkins and Theodosia Logan
who lived to maturity was Christopher Tompkins, Jr.
Elected to the legislature from Barren, in 1835, when
barely eligible to the position, his talents attracted atten-
tion in a body of which some of the most gifted Kentuck-
ians of that generation were members. He was re-elected,
but died during his second term, in his twenty-sixth year.
The oldest daughter of Judge Tompkins, Sarah Ann, mar-
ried, first, Dr. R. B. Garnett, son of Richard Garnett, who
was for many years clerk of the Barren Circuit Court ; by
198 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Dr. Garnett, she was the mother of several daughters, and
after his death she became the second wife of Rev. Dr.
Wm. L. Breckinridge. The second daughter of Judge
Tompkins married William Garnett, brother of the above-
mentioned Dr. Garnett. Her son, the oldest grandson of
Judge Tompkins — C. T. Garnett — was killed fighting in
the front line of the Union army at Vicksburg. Another
of her sons married a daughter of the late John Owsley,
of Chicago. Theodosia, third daughter of Judge Tomp-
kins, married Mr. Hall, of Barren. One of her sons, C.
T. Hall, graduated with credit at West Point, was as-
signed to the Second Artillery, and is an officer of the
regular army.
The Harrises.
Colonel John Logan's daughter, Elizabeth, married Ed-
win Lanier Harris, who came to Kentucky from Georgia.
The mother of Mr. Harris was a Lanier; there are families
of that name living in Garrard and Boyle counties ; the
Southern poet, Lanier, was of the same stock as Mr.
Harris. On the paternal side, Isham Harris, of Tennessee,
is of the same people. Harriet, daughter of Edwin L.
Harris and Elizabeth Logan, married, first, Mr. Goodloe,
and John Kemp Goodloe, of Louisville, is her son. The
latter was a good soldier in Humphrey Marshall's regi-
ment in the Avar with Mexico ; from 1855 to 1861, he rep-
resented Woodford county in the legislature, and in the
trying days of the early part of the latter year stood man-
fully by the Union ; for the next four years, he was the
senator from the Woodford district; was appointed United
States Attorney for Louisiana, and held the place for sev-
eral years. Since his return to Kentucky, Mr. Goodloe
has been continuously engaged in an extensive law prac-
tice. After the death of his father, his mother married,
secondly, Mr. Izett, and had by him a daughter, Harriet
Izett, who married Rev. A. D. Madeira, of the Presby-
terian ministry. Lucretia, the second daughter of E. L.
Harris and Elizabeth Logan, married Dr. McMillen, of
Lexington. Their only son, the late Henry Clay Harris, a
man of naturally good and sprightly mind, represented
The Logans. 199
Floyd county in the state house of representatives in
1834, '35, '38, and in the senate from 1843 to 1847, when
he removed to Covington, and there practiced law until
his death. The wife of Henry Clay Harris was Rhoda
Harmon Davis, daughter of James L. Davis. The wife of
the latter was Louisa Harmon, a sister of the two brothers
who founded Louisa, in Lawrence county, which place is
said to have been named in her honor. Letitia, one of
the daughters of Henry Clay Harris, married Robert
Richardson, of Covington. Mr. Richardson was a boy
when lie volunteered as a private soldier in Cassius M.
Clay's company of Marshall's cavalry regiment, with
which he served in Mexico ; but his youth did not prevent
him from doing full duty as a soldier. At the close of
hostilities, he commenced the practice of law in Coving-
ton. From 1855 to 1859, he was the representative from
Covington in the legislature. During his second term, the
law of 1833, prohibiting the bringing of slaves into Ken--
tucky for purposes of traffic, was repealed, the repeal-
ing act being clothed in language that permitted even the
re-opening of the slave trade with Africa. Mr. Richard-
son had all his life been a Democrat, then the extreme
pro-slavery party of the state, but party discipline could
not control his vote or voice in opposition to his judg-
ment. Others faltered; he remained firm. The ability,
the earnestness, the power with which he resisted that
repeal will not be forgotten by those who heard his ap-
peals to the sober reason of the house. In 1859, he was
nominated and elected by the Democrats as superintendent
of public instruction ; he discharged his duties with fidel-
ity ; there was but a poor opportunity to accomplish much
in the years of strife which followed. The war found him
among those Democrats who stood by the flag and the
government. Mr. Richardson's father, Samuel Q. Rich-
ardson, an able lawyer, was cut off in the prime of life by
the hand of an assassin — John U. Waring. The wife of
Sam. Q. Richardson was one of the daughters of Robert
Carter Harrison, of Fayette, whose wife was a sister of
the wife of the elder John Breckinridge, and a daughter
200 Historic Families of Kentucky.
of Colonel Joseph Cabell, of Virginia. The father of
Robert Carter Harrison was Carter Henry Harrison, a
younger In-other of the signer of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, and himself a man of talent and influence in
Virginia; the wife of Carter Henry Harrison was one of
the daughters of Ishani Randolph, of Dungeness, and sis-
ter of Jefferson's mother. 2s"o family in Virginia has
been more conspicuous than the Harrisons, nor one for so
long a time.
Letitia, the youngest daughter of Colonel John Logan
and Jane McClure, married Mr. Mosby. Of their live
children, all are dead but one. The survivor, Th.eodo.sia
Mosby, married Colonel Hoskins, a true Union man, who
commanded a regiment in the Federal army during the
civil war, from which he came out with credit as a good
soldier and officer. They live in Versailles.
Colonel John Logan had but one son to live to ma-
turity ; he was named David — a man of good sense, and
of unbending integrity, with manners frank but brusque.
His early manhood was passed in Frankfort, but in 1802
he returned to Lincoln county, where he continued to re-
side. His first wife was Mary Trigg, a daughter of Col-
onel Stephen Trigg. Her mother was a daughter of Israel
Christian. Colonel William Christian was her brother;
he was killed by Indians whom he had pursued into In-
diana, in 1786. The wives of Judge Caleb Wallace, and
of Colonel William Fleming, one of the heroes of Point
Pleasant, were her sisters. Colonel Stephen Trigg himself
was a native of Virginia, and coming to Kentucky in
1779, at onee took his natural place among the leaders of
the soldiers of the frontier. "His activity and courage
were equal to every emergency, and brought him always
to the front in the never-ceasing alarms that kept the iil-
protected stations in anxious vigilance. Nature, too, had
enriched him with that most rare and enviable gift, the
power of winning the earnest affections of men. . . .
He rose rapidly in the general esteem/* — \_Brotrn.'] In
1780, he was made lieutenant-colonel of Lineoln county,
of which Ben. Logan was colonel. (In the Virginia
The Logans. 201
Assembly of 1775, he was a delegate with Colonel ¥m.
Christian from Fincastle comity, which then included all
Kentucky. In 1780, he was a delegate with John Todd
from Kentucky county, before it was subdivided.) In
1782, as lieutenant-colonel, he was in command of the fort
at Harrodsburo;, when he received the message from Col-
onel John Todd of the siege of Bryant's station; for-
warding it at once to General Ben. Logan, at St. Asaphs,
he marched, with Major Levi Todd and such men as could
be hurriedly collected. "With the Todds, Boone, McGary,
Harlan, and Bulger, he pushed on from Lexington with-
out waiting for Logan, and, at the disaster of the Blue
Licks, fell in the front of the battle. By the daughter of
this gifted and brave man, David Logan had but one son,
Stephen Trigg Logan, born in Frankfort in 1800. His
wife died soon after his return to Lincoln.
Judge Stephen Trigg Logan
received his early education at Frankfort. In his boy-
hood, while acting as a clerk in the office of Martin D.
Hardin, secretary of state, he made out the commissions
for the officers of Shelby's force in the North-western
campaign. His facility in learning was remarkable ; at
the age of seventeen he went to Glasgow to study law
under Judge Christopher Tompkins. He commenced the
practice in Glasgow, grew rapidly in the profession, was
appointed attorney for the commonwealth, and established
a reputation as a clear, animated, and incisive speaker.
In 1823, he married America T. Bush, daughter of Will-
iam Bush, of Glasgow. He acquired a competence, which
he lost by paying security debts, and, in 1832, removed to
Illinois. There he acquired a leading position, and a repu-
tation for ability which never waned. In 1835 the legis-
lature elected him judge of the Sangamon Circuit District;
he held the office two years, when he resigned on account
of the inadequacy of the salary. Elected a second time,
without his consent, he declined to serve. " Thorough
knowledge of the law, solidity of judgment, clearness of
apprehension, promptness of decision, and a wonderful
202 Historic Families of Kentucky.
readiness in applying legal principles to complex trans-
actions and ever-varying facts," were the qualities which
distinguished him upon the bench. Four times he was
sent to the legislature, and as a delegate to the constitu-
tional convention of 1847 took an influential part in the
deliberations of that body. Defeated for Congress in
1848, on account of his opposition to the war with
Mexico, he withdrew altogether from political life, for
which he had neither taste nor aptitude, and so indus-
triously applied himself to his profession that he acquired
a handsome estate. "When he retired from the bench in
1837, his first law partner was E. I). Baker; from 1841 to
1844, he was associated with Abraham Lincoln, to whom
he had been both friend and instructor; his next was his
son-in-law, Milton Hay. In 1860, he was a delegate for
the state at large to the convention that nominated
Abraham Lincoln, and assisted in the plans that brought
about that result. As a member of the historic peace
conference of 1801, he urged an honorable compromise of
the questions at issue ; his speeches in that body have
been described as " grand and patriotic." Soon there-
after, he withdrew from the practice, as he had previously
done from politics, and passed the remainder of his life in
dignified retirement. He died in Springfield, Illinois?
July 17, 1880. In person, he was small; in dress, careless.
His forehead was high, his mouth indicated firmness, reso-
lution ; his eye, which was deep set, black, and penetra-
ting, fairly blazed when aroused. A fine judge of men,
and of the motives influencing human action, he instinct-
ively discerned the right and wrong of a controversy, was
fearless and independent in his argumentation, and had a
wealth of concise and logical expression rarely equaled.
He was not only a bold and able advocate; he was a sound
counsellor, and an honest lawyer. Of an ardent nature,
his delivery was earnest to vehemence ; his fertility in re-
sources was remarkable; his powers of nice discrimina-
tion, of keen analysis, of critical dissection, were wonder-
ful. With these characteristics, he was at the same time
a broad, comprehensive, compact reasoner. In the judg-
The Logans. 203
ment of his contemporaries, Judge Logan had few equals
as a lawyer in Illinois, and no superior. His temper was
fiery — at times, fierce; at repartee, he was very quick,
pungent. In private life, he was one of the most exem-
plary of men. Judge Logan's oldest son, David, born in
1824, became an eminent lawyer in Oregon, and was twice
the Republican candidate for Congress, both times unsuc-
cessfully. He died in 1874. Three other sons died young.
Mary, his oldest daughter, married Hon. Milton Hay, of
Springfield, and left two children, Katie and Logan Hay.
Katie Hay married her kinsman, Stuart Brown. Sally,
the second daughter of Judge Logan, born in 1834, mar-
ried Colonel Ward II. Lamon, who was United States Mar-
shal of the District of Columbia under Lincoln. Jennie,
the third daughter of Judge Logan, born February 19,
1843, married L. H. Coleman, of Springfield. They have
four children. Kate, fourth daughter of Judge Logan,
married Hon. David T. Littler, of Springfield. She died
in 1875, leaving one child.
After the death of Mary Trigg, David Logan married
his kinswoman, a sister of Judge John McKinley, by
whom he had a daughter, who became the wife of Colonel
L. T. Thustin, of Louisville.
General Hugh Logan.
Hugh, son of David and Jane Logan, was born in Au-
gusta county, and was baptized by Rev. John Craig, March
24, 1745. It is not known whether he was the next son
to General Ben. Logan, or younger than Colonel John ;
but it seems probable that he was the second son of his
parents. It was with him that Ben.' Logan left their
mother on a farm on one of the forks of James river,
when Ben. and John pushed out for the frontier on the
Holston. He came to Kentucky a little later than either
Ben. or John, but, when he did come, he acquitted him-
self well in the defense of the settlements, in repelling the
assaults by the Indians, and in the expeditions which car-
ried the war into the Indian territory north of the Ohio.
In 1783 he was made a justice of the peace, and was
204 Historic Families of Kentucky.
added to the court of Lincoln county, of which Ben. and
John were already members. The magistrates who quali-
fied at the same time were George Adams, John Edwards,
Gabriel Madison, and Alex. Robertson. — [Collins^] He
was the representative from Lincoln in 1794, and the sena-
tor from 1800 to 1806. General Hugh Logan married
Sarah Woods, by whom he had man}' children — Campbell,
Cyrus, Green, Allen, Mary D., Sarah, and Jennie Logan.
After the troubles with the Indians had ceased, he pur-
sued the vocation of a farmer upon a large body of land
he owned near the little village of Turnersville, about four
miles west of Stanford, in Lincoln. All of his children
married and left issue. Campbell married a Miss Hart, of
Kentucky, removed to Missouri, there died, and there and
in other states of the South-west his numerous respect-
able posterity live ; of these, Dr. Birch Logan and Mrs.
Sarah Hart reside in St. Louis. Green Logan married a
Miss McRoberts, of Kentucky; and he, too, removed to
Missouri, and his descendants live in that state. Cyrus
Logan married Mahala Lewis; they lived and died in Lin-
coln county. Allen Logan married, first, a MissGivens;
and, second, the widow Green, whose maiden name was
Barnett. He lived and died on a large farm in Lincoln.
He had thirteen children — Allen, who was a merchant,
and died in Missouri; Alphonzo, a merchant, who died in
Texas of wounds received while lighting in the Confed-
erate service at Murfreesboro ; Hugh was a soldier in the
Mexican War, is a merchant, and is living ; Samuel was a
filibuster in Walker's expedition in Nicaragua, and is
now a farmer in Illinois; Dr. P. W. Logan was a surgeon
in the Nineteenth Kentucky Union Infantry, was after-
ward surgeon of Colonel Robert Johnson's (son of President
Johnson) Tennessee Union regiment, was subsequently
a partner of the able Dr. John Craig, in Stanford, and is
now a very successful physician in Knoxville, Tennessee.
General Hugh Logan's daughter, Mary D., married Robert
Lewis. His daughter, Sarah, married Ezra Morrison.
And his daughter, Jennie, married George Carpenter, and
lived and died at Carpenter's Station, near Hustonville,
The Logans. 205
Lincoln county. One of the daughters of Mrs. Jennie
Carpenter married Sowell Givens, who lives in Lincoln,
near the Boyle line. The descendants of General llngh
Logan are as respectable as they are numerous. Some of
them have been prominent in the professions ; others have
been successful as farmers and as men of business ; they
are all worthy, solid, substantial citizens, and their inter-
marriages have been with people of good character and
station. In this connection it should be stated that the
ground on which the First Presbyterian Church in Stan-
ford was built was given for the purpose by General Ben.
Logan, and so was the ground of the Old Buffalo Spring
Church and burial-ground.
Nathaniel Logan.
Of the fourth son of David and Jane Logan — Nathaniel —
very little can be ascertained beyond the fact that he was
one of the early pioneers, was a brave Indian fighter, and
aided his brothers, the McClures, Montgomerys, Whitleys,
and others, in the settlement and defense of Lincoln. One
of his grandsons — a Mr. Fish — was for many years clerk
of the Circuit Court of Rockcastle county.
The Briggs.
Sarah, one of the daughters of David Logan — the emi-
grant from Ireland — and sister of General Ben., Colonel
John, Hugh, and Nathaniel Logan, married Samuel
Briggs, in Virginia, but whether in the neighborhood
in which the family had settled, in Augusta, or on the
Holston, where General Ben. and Colonel John Logan
had located before coming to Kentucky, can not now be
definitely asserted. Wherever they were married, it is
certain that before their own migration to Lincoln county,
Kentucky, they had for years resided on the Holston, and
that there their children were born. The name of Samuel
Briggs is found, with those of General Ben. Logan, Gen-
eral Wm. Campbell, Colonel fm. Christian, the McClures,
Montgomerys, Davidsons, Trimbles, Gambles, Craigs, and
Alexander Breckinridge, on the list of those who called
20G Historic Families of Kentucky.
Rev. Charles Cummings to the pastorate " of the united
congregations of the Ebbing and Sinking Spring Churches,
on Holston's river, Fincastle county " — the first churches
ever organized in all that region. — \_Foote.~\ He probably
came with his family to Kentucky, together with the
family of General Logan, early in 177G, and for a, time
lived at St. Asaphs, near Stanford. It is certain that
when General Logan removed his family to the protection
of the fort at Harrodsburg, his brother-in-law, Samuel
Briggs, and his sister, Sarah, went with them ; and that
when Logan returned to brave all danger at St. Asaphs,
Briggs remained at Harrodsburg ; but, after Logan had
built his fort, and gathered his soldiers around him, Air.
Briggs went thither with his family, and took his part in
the defense of the station and in the early settlement of
the country. His name, and that of his son, Benjamin
Briggs, are found in the list of the ninety-nine soldiers of
Logan's company. He was a good soldier and a true
man — a fighting Presbyterian, — and beyond this, not much
remains to be told of him or his wife. Of their children,
the names of Hannah, Betsey, Benjamin, and Jane were
preserved and handed down. The son, a good soldier,
married, and, having issue, carried on the. male line.
Hannah r ' : married Hugh Logan, the son of John Logan,
■Li O O ' O '
who removed from Botetourt county, Virginia, to Lincoln,
in 1791. It is not known exactly who this John Logan,
of Botetourt, was; nor how he was related, if at all, to
General Ben. Logan. It is surmised tllat he was one of
the sons of the James Logan who settled in Augusta at
the same time as David, and who is believed to have been
David's brother; — that John was a brother of the James
Logan who married the daughter of the Presbyterian
preacher, Irvine, — from which James so many Presbyterian
ministers came. One of the daughters of this John
Logan, of Botetourt (whose wife was also one of the Mc-
Clures), married Samuel Davidson — an elder brother of
Colonel James and Colonel Michael Davidson, who married
Ballengers. Samuel Davidson and his wife removed to
Illinois in 1824, and in that state their sons became promi-
The Logans. 207
neut politicians. Elizabeth Logan, another daughter of
John, of Botetourt, married John Paxton (son of Captain
John Paxton, who was wounded at Guilford, and a nephew
of Isabella Paxton, who married Captain John Lyle, and
was the mother of the wife of Colonel James McDowell,
of Fayette; and a first cousin of James A. Paxton, who
married Maria Marshall). Prof. James Love, of Liberty,
Missouri, is the grandson of this John Paxton and Eliza-
beth Logan. Another daughter of John, of Botetourt —
Nancy Logan — married William Paxton (a brother of the
above John), and their oldest daughter — Mary Ann — was
the wife of John L. Ballenger, as already stated. Eliza-
beth Paxton, daughter of William Paxton and Nancy
Logan, married Jackson Givens, of Lincoln county ; and
Isabella Paxton, another daughter, married R. W. Givens,
of Boyle. The Hugh Logan (son of John, of Botetourt)
who married Hannah Briggs, to distinguish him from
others of the same given name was called " Tall Hugh."
They had seven children, all of whom are dead except
James, who lives in Missouri. One of the daughters of
"Tall Hugh" by a second wife was the wife of James
B. Mason, of Garrard county. Betsey Briggs, another
daughter of Sam. Briggs and Sarah Logan, is said to have
died single.
Jane Briggs married Levi Todd, in the fort of St.
Asaphs, in Lincoln county, February 25, 1779. This is
the account preserved in the family of the late Robert S.
Todd, one of her sons. The record of John T. Stuart,
one of her grandsons, says that the given, name of the
Briggs who married Sarah Logan was Benjamin ; that it
was their daughter Elizabeth who married Levi Todd, and
that the wedding took place at Harrodsburg. The last is
evidently erroneous, as the Briggs family, at the time of
the marriage, were residents of St. Asaphs, then a forti-
fied station defended by strong arms and brave hearts.
Whether the wedding was at Harrod's, or at Logan's, and
whether the bride was Jane or Betsey, we may be sure
there were no engraved cards tied with silken ribbons to
bid the guests to the wedding feast, no tables decked with
208 Historic Fum Hies of Kentucky.
silver plate emblazoned with coats- of- arms, no guest ar-
rayed in immodest gown bought from some man mantua-
maker in Paris. There was no printing press, much less
an engraver, within hundreds of miles. Those shrewd
men and heroie women, to whom our people are indebted
for most that is either good or powerful in them, were too
seriously grappling with the stern realities of life to think
or dream of the lying vanities paraded in most American
armorial bearings. And it is the boast of the sensible
descendants of fair Jenny or Betsey Briggs, that with her
own brisk hands she spun and wove her wedding-dress
from the fiber of the wild cotton weed. The men who wit-
nessed the exchange of vows knew that at any moment
they might be ordered to march; the women, that at
break of day they might bid their loved ones a last fare-
well. No shoddy nor pinchbeck was there; nor any shabby
imitation of the coarse profusion of an intrinsically vulgar
Engl i si 1 squirearchy.
What is known of the antecedents of this family of
Todds,
rs most honorable. Of the Covenanters captured at Bothwell
Brigg, two hundred and fifty were sentenced to be trans-
ported to America; and two hundred of these were
drowned in the shipwreck of the vessel conveying them —
off Orkney. They had been shut up below the hatches of
the ship by the orders of Paterson, the cruel merchant
who had contracted for their transportation and sale.
Fifty escaped and afterward took part in the defense of Lon-
donderry. — [Waddell.] Among those who were drowned,
were Robert Todd, of Fenwick, and James Todd, of Dun-
bar. Nothing is known but the sameness of the name of
Robert Todd, of Fenwick, and the hereditary name of
Robert in the family of Levi Todd, to indicate a con-
nexion hetween them. In 1679 — the year in which Rob-
ert Todd, of Fenwick, was drowned — John Todd fled
from the persecutions of Claverhouse in Scotland to find
refuge in the North of Ireland. The record of Mrs. Ben.
Hardin Helm describes John Todd, the refugee, as a
The, Logans. 209
" Scottish Laird," and that means simply that he owned
land in fee and was a landlord, and not at all that he he-
longed to or was allied with the nobility. Two of his
grandsons, Andrew and Robert Todd, came with their
families to America in 1737. Of these two, Robert Todd
was born in Ireland in 1697, died in Montgomery county,
Pennsylvania, in 177~>, and was buried in the churchyard
of the Providence Presbyterian Church. His first wife,
whose name is supposed to have been Smith, died and
was buried in Ireland. In Ireland, he married, for a sec-
ond wife, Isabella, sister of Major William Bodley. The
mother of Isabella and General Wm. Bodley was a Par-
ker, a name which belongs to many families of note in
Pennsylvania. By his first wife, Robert Todd — the emi-
grant — had two sons, John and David. By the second
wife, he had five sons and four daughters — William, An-
drew, Robert, Samuel, Levi, Elizabeth, Mary, Rebecca,
and Sarah. The last named married John Findlay, or
Finley, of whom the record says only that he '-went west-
ward." lie was not identical with the John Finley
who, in 1773, came to Kentucky with Thompson's survey-
ing party, discovered the Upper Blue Lick Spring, in
Nicholas county, where, after fighting himself up to the
rank of major in the Revolution, he settled when the war
had ended. John Todd, the oldest son of Robert (the
emigrant) by his first wife, graduated at Princeton in
1749, a member of the second class admitted to a degree
by that institution ; was licensed hj the New Brunswick
Presbytery in the following year, and was ordained by the
same body in 1751. He then went to Virginia on the in-
vitation of Rev. Samuel Davies, whom he assisted in min-
istering to the several congregations of which that patri-
otic divine was the pastor. Parson Todd for many years
taught a classical school in Virginia. Taking an active
interest in the early settlement of Kentucky, his great so-
licitude was to provide for the educational and religious
wants of the emigrants. He used his influence to obtain
from the Virginia Legislature the charter for Transylvania
14
210 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Seminary, which was opened at the house of his friend,
David Rice, in February, 1785, and it was he who gave to
that institution the first library ever brought to Kentucky.
Though it is not known that he ever came in person to
Kentucky, no account of the early times in the state will
be satisfactory that does not commemorate his zeal and
his virtues. John Todd, son of the parson, became a Pres-
byterian preacher, lived for a time in Paris, and then re-
moved to Indiana. One of the daughters of the parson
married her cousin, General Robert Todd, and was the
mother of the wife of General ¥m. 0. Butler, and of
Judge Levi Todd, and General Thomas Todd, of Indiana.
Mary, the oldest daughter of Robert Todd — the emi-
grant — married James Parker; they had four sons and
four daughters.
Elizabeth, another daughter of Robert Todd — the emi-
grant — married Robert Parker, brother of the above
James. Thev had a son and a daughter. The daughter
married General Andrew Porter; a daughter of General
Porter married her cousin, Robert Parker, settled in Lex-
ington, Kentucky, and was the grandmother of the wife
of President Lincoln. After the death of Robert Parker,
his widow, Elizabeth Todd, married Arthur McFarland,
by whom she had four children.
David Todd — second son of Robert, the emigrant — was
born in Ireland, April 8, 1723; when a child, was brought
by his father to Pennsylvania; lived there, as a farmer, in
the Providence township of Montgomery county until
17<S3, when he came to Kentucky. His sons — John, Rob-
ert, and Levi — had preceded him to Kentucky, and John
had already been killed at the Blue Licks. His youngest
son, Owen Todd (who settled in Ohio), and his daughter,
Hannah (who married Elijah Smith), came with him. So,
too, came his brother-in-law, James Parker, and his sister
Mary. David Todd died in Fayette county, February 8,
1785. His wife, whom he married in Pennsylvania, was
Hannah Owen, of Welsh descent and a Quakeress. They
had four sons and two daughters — John, Robert, Levi,
Owen, Elizabeth and Hannah.
The Logans. 211
The oldest son of David Todd and Hannah Owen —
John — was educated in Virginia by his uncle, Parson John
Todd, studied law, and became one of the deputy survey-
ors employed by Colonel "William Preston. He is asserted
by John Mason Brown to have been an aide to General
Andrew Lewis in the battle of Point Pleasant. He came
to Kentucky early in 1775, and was at St. Asaphs with
John Floyd and General Logan in the spring of that year.
He represented St. Asaphs in the abortive attempt to es-
tablish the territorial government of Transylvania. In
1777, he was one of the first two burgesses sent by Ken-
tucky county to the Virginia General Assembly. He suc-
ceeded George Rogers Clarke in command at Kaskaskia,
and was for several years civil governor and colonel of the
county of Illinois. When Bryant's Station was besieged,
in August, 1782, Colonel Todd was again in Kentucky.
AVith such men as could be assembled at Lexington, and
with the forces of Boonesboro and Harrodsburg, he
marched, without waiting for General Logan with the
well-equipped veteran fighters of Lincoln, and fell at the
Blue Licks. While a burgess at Richmond he married
Jane Hawkins, by whom he had* a daughter. This daugh-
ter married, first, Colonel Russell, and after his death be-
came the second wife of Robert Wickliffe, Sr. Her son
by Russell dying, she made a deed of gift to her second
husband by which all the large estate of Colonel John
Todd passed to the family of Mr. Wickliffe, to the exclu-
sion of those of her own blood. Mildred Hawkins, a
sister of Jane, married Captain Pierce Butler of the
Revolution, and was the mother of Major Thomas L.,
General William 0., and Richard Butler, of Carrollton,
and of the late Pierce Butler, of Louisville. Colonel
John Todd was the best educated and most accomplished,
and is represented to have been the most richly endowed
by nature, of all the early pioneers and surveyors of Ken-
tucky.
Robert, second son of David Todd and Hannah Owen,
was well educated at the school of his uncle, Parson John
Todd, whose daughter he married ; then studied law in
212 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Virginia, it is said in the office of General Andrew Lewis;
came early to Kentucky; was sent as a burgess to the
Virginia Legislature before the separation ; was a member
of the Danville convention of 1785 ; was an elector of the
senate, and a senator, in 1792; was a lot-owner in Lexing-
ton in 1783; was wounded in the defense of McClellan's
fort, now Georgetown, in 1776; continued to be an active
and brave soldier all through the troubles with the In-
dians, and was often intrusted with important commands ;
and was, for many years after the state was established, a
judge of the Circuit Court of the Fayette District. — [Col-
lins.'] It has been stated that one of his daughters mar-
ried General Wm. 0. Butler. Judge Levi and Colonel
Thomas Todd, of Indiana, and the late Dr. John Todd, of
Danville, Avere his sons.
Levi, third son of David Todd and Hannah Owen, was
born in Pennsylvania in 1756; was educated with his elder
brothers in Virginia, with them studied law, became a
surveyor, came early to Kentucky, and at first seems to
have been one of the defenders of the fort at Harrods-
burg ; afterward he assisted Logan to hold St. Asaphs. He
was stationed at St. Asaphs when he married Jane or
Betsey Briggs. Afterward, he fortified Todd's Station, in
Jessamine, whence he removed to Lexington, where he
was a purchaser at the first sale of lots in 1781. He was
clerk of the first court of quarter sessions held in Har-
rodsburg, in the spring of 1777 — [MeClung] ; was a mem-
ber of both the Danville conventions of 1785, and of that
of 1787. When Fayette county was formed, he was ap-
pointed its first clerk, and held the office until his death
in 1807. He was a lieutenant under George Rogers
Clarke in the successful expedition against Ivaskaskia and
Vincennes; was with Logan in the attack upon the In-
dian town when Bowman's panic thwarted the well-con-
certed plan; was major of Logan's Lincoln county regi-
ment, and participated in two other expeditions against
the Indians of Ohio and Indiana ; and was a major in the
hottest of the fight at Blue Licks, where his gallant and
gifted brother fell. Afterward, he became a brigadier and
The Logans. 213
then a major-general. Those military titles were won by
actual service ; his reputation was secured by real and
hard fighting. A solid, substantial, enterprising citizen;
a sensible, intelligent, well-educated man ; a consistent
Presbyterian; a valuable and faithful public servant; a
good soldier ; — of course he was respected at a time when
those qualities were most useful and honored. General
Levi Todd and Jane or Betsey Briggs were the parents of
eleven children — Hannah, Elizabeth, John, Nancy, David,
Ann Maria, Robert S., Jane, Margaret, Roger North, and
Samuel. After the death of his first wife, General Todd
married, secondly, Mrs. Tatum, by whom he had a son —
James — the father of Dr. L. B. Todd, of Lexington.
1. Elizabeth, second child of General Levi Todd, mar-
ried Charles Carr, of Fayette — son to Walter Carr, who
was a member of the convention of 1799, and was several
times in the legislature. They had twelve children, whose
descendants live in Fayette and Missouri. Their son,
Charles Carr, a lawyer, was for years judge of the Fayette
County court — a Union man; his wife was a Miss Did-
lake. Their daughter, Mary Ellen Carr, married Alfred
You ns;; one of her daughters is the wife of Charles S.
Brent, of Lexington.
2. Dr. John, third child of General Levi Todd, married
Elizabeth Smith. One of their daughters, Elizabeth Todd,
is the widow of Rev. John H. Brown, of Illinois. Another
daughter of Dr. John Todd — Fanny — was the first wife of
Thomas II. Shelby, a grandson of the governor; and John
Todd Shelby, of Lexington, is her son. This Dr. John
Todd lived in Springfield, Illinois.
3. The fourth child of General Levi Todd — Nancy — mar-
ried her cousin, Dr. John Todd, a son of General Robert
Todd, and a brother of General Wm. O. Butler's wife.
David was the only one of her sons who had issue. His
wife was a Miss Hicks. Dr. Todd lived for many years in
Danville, Kentucky.
4. David, fifth child of General Levi Todd, married
Eliza Barr, settled in Missouri, and had eight children : —
Rebecca married Samuels ; Ann married Campbell ; Rob-
214 Historic Families of Kentucky.
ert married Miss Brigham ; William married Miss Semmes;
Letitia married her cousin, Edwin Breck; the others died
single.
5. Jane Briggs Todd, eighth child of General Levi,
married Judge Daniel Breck — a native of Massachusetts,
the son of a Presbyterian clergyman who was a chaplain
in the army of the Revolution, and was with Montgomery
in the assault upon Quebec. Daniel Breck graduated at
Dartmouth in 1812; settled in Richmond, Kentucky, in
1814, and by his own energy, force of character, and tal-
ents, won his way to the head of the bar of that section
of the state; he was five times sent to the legislature,
where he was prominent in promoting works of internal
improvement; was appointed a judge of the court of ap-
peals in 1843, and during the six years of his incumbency
of the position, had the reputation of being one of the
ablest of the justices of that court; resigned, in 1849, to
make a successful race for Congress, and in the memorable
struggle of 1850 over the compromise measures, was a
staunch ally of Mr. Clay and of the Fillmore administra-
tion. He died in 1871, aged eighty-three years. He was
married to Jane Briggs Todd in 1819. They had eight
children — Ann Maria married Dr. Ramsey, and Daniel
married Miss Ramsey; Edwin married his cousin, Letitia
Todd; Elizabeth married Judge William McDowell, son
of Hon. Joseph Jefferson McDowell, of Ohio, and grand-
son of Colonel Joseph McDowell, of the Quaker Meadows,
North Carolina — " Fighting Joe ; " Charles H. Breck mar-
ried Miss Ford, and was county judge of Madison. Rev.
Robert L. Breck is the fifth and ablest of the children of
Judge Daniel Breck ; a graduate of Centre College, and of
the Princeton Theological Seminary, he possesses the fac-
ulty of organization, and is a preacher of more than ordi-
nary ability. He was conspicuous, and made himself felt,
in the movements that led to the establishment of the In-
dependent Synod of Kentucky, since merged in the south-
ern branch of the Presbyterian Church ; to his zeal, effi-
ciency, energy, and weight, more than to any other man,
Central University is indebted for its establishment. His
The Logans. 215
temper and talents are both essentially aggressive — com-
bative ; by no one is he to be despised as an antagonist.
A tine parliamentarian, and wielding an adroit and in-
cisive pen, in an ecclesiastical controversy he never fails to
develop the hard-hitting qualities of his sharp-shooting
ancestors.
6. Roger North Todd, tenth child of General Levi, mar-
ried Miss Ferguson. They had eight children. Their
son, Robert L. Todd, married, first, Sallie Hall, a daughter
of Rev. Nathan K. Hall, an eminent Presbyterian divine.
The mother of Sallie Hall was a daughter of Colonel
William Pope, one of the first settlers at the Falls of the
Ohio, and a sister of General John Pope ; her first hus-
band was the Captain Trotter who charged at Missis-
sinewa. After the death of this first wife, Mr. Todd mar-
ried, secondly, Martha Edwards, daughter of Dr. Ben.
Edwards, of St. Louis, whose wife was a daughter of Wil-
lis Green, of Lincoln county, Kentucky.
7. The best known of the children of General Levi
Todd and Jane or Betsey Briggs was the seventh — Robert
Smith Todd, who was born near Lexington, February 25,
1791, and died July 15, 1810. When about thirty years
old, he was elected clerk of the Kentucky House of Rep-
resentatives, and, by successive elections, held the position
for twenty years ; he was then three times elected repre-
sentative from Fayette ; in 1845, was elected to the state
senate, and was a candidate for re-election when he died.
He was president of the Lexington branch of the Bank of
Kentucky from its establishment, in 1836, until his death. —
[Collins ^\ Not a man of brilliant talents, but one of clear
and strong mind, sound judgment, exemplary life and
conduct, dignified and manly bearing ; an influential and
useful citizen. He was twice married. First, to his near
relative, Eliza Ann Parker, a granddaughter of General
Andrew Porter. They had eight children : — Elizabeth mar-
ried Ninian W. Edwards, a leading lawyer of Springfield,
Illinois, and a son of Ninian W. Edwards, who was gov-
ernor of the Illinois Territory, and afterward of the state;
Mary was the wife of President Abraham Lincoln, and
21 <! Historic Families of Kentucky.
mother of Robert Todd Lincoln, secretary of war: Levi
married Louisa Searles, of Lexington ; Dr. George R. C.
married Miss Curry, of Cvntliiana : Frances married Dr.
William Wallace, of Springfield, Illinois: Margaret mar-
ried Charles IT. Kellogg, of Cincinnati, Ohio. After the
death of his first wife, Robert S. Todd married Elizabeth
Humphreys, daughter of Dr. Alexander Humphreys, of
Staunton, Virginia, — the preceptor of Dr. Ephraim Mc-
Dowell, of Danville. Her mother was a daughter of Rev.
John Brown, and granddaughter of John Preston. By
this wife, Mr. Todd had eight children: — Samuel B. was
killed in the Confederate ranks at Shiloh; David, a Con-
federate soldier, was shot through the lungs at the siege
of Vicksburg, and died after the surrender; Alexander
was killed at the battle of Baton Rouge; Catharine Bodley
married W. W. Herr; Martha married C. B. White, of
Alabama ; and Elodie married Colonel X. H. R. Dawson,
of Selma, in the same state, — now the United States Com-
missioner of Education, at Washington.
Emilie Todd, the fourth child of Robert S. Todd by Ids
second wife, married the late General Ben. Hardin Helm —
a son of John L. Helm. The latter was born in Hardin
county in 1802; in local state affairs, he was one of the
most prominent men of bis generation, and in practical
usefulness in the development of the material resources of
Kentucky was surpassed by no other man. John L.
Helm preferred to devote his attention to the material
interests of the people and of the commonwealth, rather
than to the discussion of national issues. Eleven times he
was elected from Hardin to the house of representatives,
bis terms of service extending from 182G to 1843, and five
times was chosen speaker of that body. He was elected
to the sentite 1S44-48. During the time he was in the
legislature, the system of internal improvements was com?
menced and prosecuted; the turnpikes built, which pre-
ceded the railroads, and the slackwater navigation pushed
forward; the Louisville and Lexington railroad con-
structed: —all by the aid of the state. Of all these meas-
ures, which added greatly to the wealth of Kentucky, Mr.
The Logans. 2YJ
Helm was an earnest, an influential, and a sagacious advo-
cate. His services to the state in shaping the laws and
devising the means for meeting the large expenditures in-
curred, .in creating the board of commissioners of the
sinking fund, and providing for the extinguishment of the
large debt entailed by this wise policy, were' highly im-
portant. In 1849 Mr. Helm was elected lieutenant-gov-
ernor of the state, in which capacity he presided over the
senate. He opposed the system of an elective judiciary
incorporated into the constitution of 1850. When Mr.
Crittenden resigned the governorship, in 1850, to accept a
place in Mr. Fillmore's cabinet as attorney-general, Mr.
Helm succeeded him and filled out his term. He built
the Louisville and Nashville railroad. At a time of great
monetary stringency, when all similar enterprises in the
state had failed or had been sacrificed to the mortgagees,
and when a similar fate seemed awaiting the corporation
of which he was the president, it was his invincible will,
his unquailing grit, his indomitable energy, his signal ca-
pacity for affairs, and the public confidence in his ability
and integrity, that averted the disaster, pushed the road
through to completion, and saved it to the stockholders.
Others reaped the benefit of his labors,, but simple justice
to a capable and bold man demands that it be stated, that
to John L. Helm, and not to James Guthrie, belongs the
credit of triumphant success in the initial step in the ma-
terial development of Southern Kentucky — the construc-
tion of the railway which renders so much of the South
tributary to Louisville. He was indeed a useful, vigor-
ous, clear-headed man, with a natural turn for practical
affairs. In 1865, Mr. Helm was again elected to the state
senate, and served until 1867. In the latter year, he was
the candidate for governor chosen by the re-organized
Democracy, and after a canvass of the state in which he
exhibited mental faculties unimpaired by advancing years,
was elected by a very large majority. The strain upon
his physical strength produced by Ins exertions, brought
on a spell of sickness which prevented him from going to
Frankfort to be inaugurated. Consequently, that cere-
218 Historic Families of Kentucky.
monv was performed at his residence, in Elizabethtown.
In a few davs thereafter, he died.
The wife of Governor Helm was Lueinda Barbour
Hardin, one of the daughters of Ben. Hardin — a most
trenchant public speaker, a master of the keenest satire
and powerful invective, and, as a lawyer, not inferior to
any man in Kentucky of Lis day. The father of Mr.
Hardin had the same given name as his celebrated son;
his mother was Sarah, sister of Colonel John Hardin ; his
father and mother were full first cousins. When Magoffin
sent in his first message to the legislature of 1859-60,
much of its space was given to statistics by which it was
attempted to show that the marriage of blood relatives
was productive of insanity and idiocy in their offspring,
and urging the general assembly to enact laws prohibitory
of such marriages. Immediately thereafter, a communi-
cation appeared in the " Frankfort Commonwealth," de-
nouncing the proposed attempt to east such a slur upon
■ the thousands of reputable people of the state who were
children of blood relatives, ridiculing the arguments of
the governor, and offering to produce two instances of the
marriages of first cousins belonging to two of the most
intellectual families in the state, in which the offspring
were the very most intellectual members of those families;
and asserting the ability of the writer to find children of
first cousins in Kentucky whom the public would readily
pronounce, one for one, superior to the governor, and to
every one who defended his position. One of the persons
referred to, was Ben. Hardin — the " Old Kitchen Knife,"
as John Randolph styled him. The communication cre-
ated an uproar of laughter at Magoffin and defeated the
measure. It was written by Rev. Dr. Robt. J. Breckinridge.
• Ben. Ha-rdin's wife was the sister of Major James Bar-
bour, of Danville — an officer in the War of 1812 — and a
daughter of Ambrose Barbour, a Virginian who emi-
grated at an early day to Kentucky. Ambrose was a son
of James Barbour, one of the first vestrymen in St.
Mark's Parish, Culpepper county, Virginia. James — a
member of the Burgesses of 17G4, son of the above
The Logans. 219
James, and brother of Ambrose — was the ancestor of the
late John S. Barbour, the brilliant congressman, and of
the present John S. Barbour, president of the Virginia
Midland Railroad. Thomas — another son of James, the
vestryman, and brother of Ambrose — represented Orange
in the Burgesses in 1775. This Thomas Barbour married
Isabella Thomas, daughter of Richard Thomas and Isa-
bella Pendleton; the latter was the daughter of Philip
Pendleton, the ancestor of the distinguished families in
Virginia, Ohio, and the South, of that name. This
Thomas Barbour and Isabella Thomas were the parents
of Hon. Philip Pendleton Barbour, speaker of Congress
and of the Virginia convention of 1829-30, and an asso-
ciate justice of the United States Supreme Court; and of
James Barbour, the able and distinguished governor of
Virginia, United States senator, minister to England, and
secretary of war. The latter was the father of the late
Ben. Johnson Barbour. Ambrose Barbour, who came to
Kentucky, married Catherine Thomas, sister of the above
Isabella, and they were the parents of Major James Bar-
bour, of Danville, and of Ben. Hardin's wife. Major
Barbour and Mrs. Hardin were double first cousins of
Judge and Governor. Barbour. Major Barbour married
the daughter of Willis Green, of Lincoln; they were the
parents of James Barbour, of Maysville, and Rev. Dr.
Lewis Green Barbour, of Central University.
General Ben. Hardin Helm — grandson of Ben. Hardin
and Miss Barbour, and son of Governor John L. Helm and
Lucinda Barbour Hardin — was born in Hardin county, June
2, 1831 ; was for a time a pupil at the military school near
Frankfort, but, after a brief stay there, entered "West
Point, from which institution he graduated in 1851; then-
served several months on the frontier as a second lieuten-
ant in the regular army. Resigning his commission, he
graduated at the Louisville Law School, in 1853, and was
for several months a student in the law department of
Harvard. He was elected to the state legislature from
Hardin in 1855, and during the session met with Emilie
Todd, whom he married shortly after the adjournment, in
220 Historic Families of Kentucky.
1856. In August of the latter year, he was elected com-
monwealth attorney for the Hardin district. Having ten-
dered his services to the Confederate government, in Sep-
tember, 1861, he was commissioned as colonel of the First
Kentucky Confederate Cavalry, and covered the retreat
from Bowling Green. In February, 1862, he was brigaded
with the Kentucky infantry, at Murfreesboro, under Gen-
eral Breckinridge. About that time he "was assigned to
the Third Brigade of the Reserve Corps; in July, 1862,
took command of the Second Brigade of that corps; was
wounded in an engagement, August 5th ; after recovery,
commanded the post at Chattanooga; subsequently, was
placed in command of the Eastern District of the Gulf
Department; in February, 1863, took charge of the Ken-
tucky brigade in Breckinridge's division; was actively en-
gaged i;i the arduous campaign soon after passed through
by his brigade ; and, in the battle of Chickamauga, fell
mortally wounded, September 20, 1863 ; and, at midnight
of that day, breathed his last." — [Biographical Encyclopedia
of Kentucky^ General Helm was tall and symmetrically
formed; his countenance was pleasing; his address win-
ning. He was notian orator, but was a fluent, an interest-
ing and forcible speaker. A fine specimen of a Kentuck-
ian, his record as a soldier was highly honorable; his death
one that a soldier who feels his cause to be just right will-
ingly meets. General Helm and Emilie Todd had a son
and several daughters. Mrs. Emilie Helm is living in
Elizabethtown, and to her the writer is indebted for the
facts concerning her Todd ancestors.
The Stuarts.
Hannah, the oldest daughter of General Levi Todd and
Jane (or Betsey) Briggs, was born in the fort at Harrods-
hnrg; the precise date of her birth is unknown to the
writer, but it was probably in the year 1780. Contempo-
rary description represents her to have been of unusual
beauty of face and person in her youth, and, in maturer
years, as a woman of uncommon force of character. In the
The Logans. 221
early bloom of womanhood, she became the wife of Rev.
Robert Stuart, a native of Virginia.
The name of Stuart supports the family tradition that
their ancestor emigrated from Scotland to Ireland ; it is
not improbable that he was one of the colonists induced
to locate in the latter country by Montgomery and Ham-
ilton. His descendant, Archibald Stuart, married, in Ire-
land, 'Janet Brown, sister of Rev. John Brown, who -was
the father of the first United States Senator from Ken-
tucky. Archibald Stuart emigrated to Pennsylvania
in 1727, and thence to Augusta county in 1738. Major
Alexander Stuart (who was captured, unwounded, at Guil-
ford) was his son. Judge Archibald Stuart was the son
of Major Alexander Stuart by his first wife, Mary Patter-
son; and Hon. A. H. II. Stuart was one of the sons of
Judge Archibald. It has already been stated that Major
Alexander Stuart married, for a second wife, the widow
I'axton, whose maiden name was Mary Moore, and who
belonged to the Rutherford- Alliene-Walker breed from
which came Dr. John P.Campbell, the McPheeters, the
Browns (sons of Rev. Samuel Brown), the wife of Rev.
Robert Logan, and so many other Presbyterian ministers.
It has been stated also that Judge Alexander Stuart was
the son of Major Alexander Stuart by this second wife;
that Hon. Archibald Stuart, of Patrick — an officer of the
War of 1812, an able lawyer, and eloquent orator — was a
son of Judge Archibald Stuart; and that Genera! James
Ewell Brown Stuart — the Murat of the Confederacy — was
the son r of Hon. Archibald Stuart, of Patrick. The his-
tory of this branch of the Stuarts is stated at greater de-
tail in Peyton's " History of Augusta County."
Some time after 1740, Archibald Stuart (husband of
Janet Brown) was followed to the Valley by two younger
brothers — John and David. The latter was the ancestor of
the Stuarts of South Carolina. The former — John Stuart —
must not be confounded with the John Stuart who came
over with Dinwiddie, married the widow Paul (Jane
Linn), and was the father of Colonel John Stuart, of
Greenbrier. The men were different, the families in this
222 Historic Families of Kentucky.
country distinct. The John Stuart to whom reference is
now made settled in Augusta county, in what is now
Rockbridge, was a member of the Timber Ridge congre-
gation, and married a Miss "Walker, of the Rutherford-
Alliene- Walker family — the family of preaching talents —
of Walker's creek. Many of his descendants still live in
that vicinity. One of the sons of this John Stuart and
Miss Walker — Robert Stuart — was born on Walker's
creek, August 14, 1772. The Stuarts were fighters. The
Walkers were fighters with preaching tendencies ; when
their descendants were not taking a lively hand in a fight,
they were generally preaching or marrying preachers.
Robert Stuart's talents sent him to the pulpit. He was
well educated at Liberty Hall, under Dr. Graham, where
he was a fellow-student with Dr. George A. Baxter, who
succeeded Graham as principal of that academy, and suc-
ceeded John Holt Rice in the Union Theological Seminary.
His theological training was received at Hampden Sidney.
After preaching in Virginia several years, he came to Ken-
tucky before the beginning of the nineteenth century. On
the amalgamation of the Transylvania Seminary with the
Kentucky Academy, under the title of Transylvania Uni-
versity, in 1708, he was selected as one of the first three
professors of the latter institution, and held the position
of professor of languages a number of years. For more
than half a century, he filled the pulpits of the churches
at Walnut Hill, in Fayette county, and at Salem, Clarke
county. The degree of doctor of divinity that was con-
ferred upon him was merited by his learning and long
service. He died at the age of eighty-four years. His
wife, Hannah Todd, died in 1832. They had seven chil-
dren : 1. Mary Jane Stuart married Daniel B.Price, long
the clerk of the Circuit Court of Jessamine. She is still
living with her son, Dan.B. Price, in Versailles. Her son,
Robert S. Price, resides in Jessamine. Her daughter,
Eliza, married Mr. Hemphill, and lives in the same county.
Louisa Price married Mr. Bcrryman. 2. Eliza A. Stuart
married Dr. Steele, the Presbyterian minister of Hills-
boro, Ohio; she died in 1884, aged seventy-nine years.
The Logans. 223
3. David Stuart was a Presbyterian minister, and long the
principal of a female academy in Shelbyville, Kentucky.
He married a Miss Winchester. His son, Winchester H.
Stuart, married his kinswoman, Nettie Chinn ; they live
in Shelbyville. The other children of Rev. Robert Stuart
were: 4, Hon. John Todd ; 5, Robert ; 6, Samuel ; and 7,
Margaret.
Hon. John Todd Stuart.
John Todd Stuart was born near Lexington, Kentucky ,
November 10, 1807 ; was educated at Centre College and
Transylvania; studied law under Judge Daniel Breek,
who had married his aunt ; was licensed by judges of the
court of. appeals. In October, 182S, he removed to Spring-
field, Illinois, there entered upon the practice of his pro-
fession, and there continued to reside until his death, on
the 28th of November, 1885. In 1832, he was elected to
the legislature of that state. " He had so grown in the
confidence and attachment of the people that there was a
pressing demand for his services, although he had only at-
tained the age of twenty-five years. . . . Mr. Stuart
soon took high rank with his associates, and challenged
their esteem and admiration." — [Judge David Davisi] He
was re-elected to tlutt body, 1834-35; it was largely owing
to his advocacy that the aid of the state was extended to
the construction of the Illinois and Michigan canal, which
gave the first great impulse to the growth of Chicago.
"I do not believe there was anv other man in the state
who could have successfully overcome the combined and
opposing obstacles arrayed against the measure." — [Judge
Goodrich.'] Abraham Lincoln was a member of the lower
house of the legislature of 1834-36. Said Judge Davis,
in his address before the Illinois Bar Association :
"The part which Stuart took in shaping Lincoln's des-
tiny is not generally known outside of the circle of their
immediate friends. They lodged at the same house, and
occupied the same bed, during the session of the legisla-
ture. Both were Whigs in politics, and trusted friends,
and each estimated aright the abilities of the other. Both
were honest men with deep convictions, and appreciated
by their fellow-members. The one was liberally educated
224 Historic Families of Kentucky.
and a lawyer; the other, uneducated, and engaged in the
humble occupation of a land surveyor. Stuart saw at
once that there must be a change of occupation to give
Lincoln a fair start in life, and that the study and practice
of the law were necessary to stimulate his ambition, and
develop his faculties. When the subject was introduced,
it appeared that Lincoln had never entertained the idea of
becoming a lawyer, and stated difficulties which he deemed
insurmountable. These Stuart overcame, and Lincoln
agreed to give the matter a thoughtful consideration.
The result was that he yielded to Stuart's solicitations,
and read law at his country home, some distance from
Springfield, under the directions of Stuart, and with
books loaned by him for the purpose. On Lincoln's ad-
mission to the bar, Stuart formed a partnership with him,
which continued, I think, until Stuart went to Congress.
Every lawyer, and indeed every thoughtful and intelligent
person, can readily see the influence which the choice of
the legal profession had on Lincoln's life."
In 1836, Mr. Stuart was defeated for Congress by Col-
onel May, the Democratic candidate. Two years later, he
defeated Stephen A. Douglas for a seat in the National
House of Representatives. The campaign, which lasted
five months, was arduous and exciting, the parties were
thoroughly aroused, the heat of debate put the candidates
on their metal and elicited their best powers. They were
equally matched; Stuart won. In 1840, he achieved an
easy victory over Judge Ralston, and in 1842 declined to
run a third time. His successors were J.ohn J. Hardin,
E. D. Baker, and Abraham Lincoln. From 1848 to 1852,
Mr. Stuart was a member of the state senate, where his
services were of the greatest importance, wt placing him in
the category of statesmen." — [Dcwis^ He was devoted
to the Whig party while it lived. In the formation of
the Republican party, Stuart thought he saw a standing
menace to the peace and quiet of the country. In the
contest of 1860, Mr. Stuart supported John Bell for Presi-
dent ; after that, he acted with the Democratic party, but
never considered himself a member of it. During the
war, he did not approve the measures of the administra-
tion, and seemed to lose all hope, but his love of country
The Logans. 225
did not diminish. In a letter to Governor Campbell, of
Tennessee, a Union man, of date 14th February, 1863, lie
says: "I am for maintaining the Union without condi-
tions, and at all hazards, and for preserving the integrity
of our entire territory under the constitution, as our
fathers made it." Again he says: " If we cease fighting
in the present condition of the contest, it would be vir-
tually a dissolution of the Union." This result, which he
feared, he dreaded above all things. He deplored the war
"as a mistake and crime on the part of the South."
" The battle," in his opinion, "should have been fought at
the ballot-box, under the Union and constitution." The
whole letter breathes a spirit of fervent patriotism, but it
is wvy despondent. Mr. Stuart re-entered Congress in
1862, defeating Leonard Swett, the Republican candidate.
He did not take this step because he had any greater love
than formerly for politics, but in the hope, as he tells
Campbell, that he might "be instrumental in restoring
the country to union, peace, and prosperity."
As a lawyer, it is sufficient to say of Hon. -John Todd
Stuart that he held his own with Davis, Lincoln, Douglas,
Logan, Hardin, Baker, and men of like caliber. As a
man. he was the personification of generosity. In the
early days of Bloomington, when the Presbyterians of that
place desired a lot he owned in that city upon which to
erect a church, and were too poor to purchase it, he do-
nated the lot, worth live hundred dollars, to the congrega-
tion, though he owned no other property there, and his
own circumstances were limited. He was a brave man.
AVhile solicitous to give offense to no one, he allowed no
person to infringe upon his rights, either as a lawyer or as
a man — charming in the social circle, and devoted to his
family and their comfort. His friendship was strong and
enduring, and was equal to all demands made upon it.
Besides, he was an honest and conscientious man, and dis-
charged with fidelity every duty which the opportunities
of life afforded him. Uniformly courteous in his inter-
course with his fellow-men, of polished manners and com-
15
226 Historic Families of Kentucky.
mandin^ presence, he impressed all with whom be asso-
ciated as one of nature's noblemen.
In October, 1S37, John T. Stuart married Mary Vir-
ginia, daughter of General Francis Nash, a Virginian who
had settled in St. Louis county, Missouri ; her mother was
a Miss Bland, of Eastern Virginia. General Nash was a
great-nephew of the General Francis Nash who was killed
in the battle of Germantown. Hon. Abner Nash and
.Judge Frederick Nash, of North Carolina, were his near
kinsmen.; the mother of Rev. Nash Legrand, and of Lucy
Legrand — the wife of Major John McDowell — was his
kinswoman. Mr. Stuart and Mary Virginia Nash were
the parents of six children: 1. Betty, who was the first
wife of C. C. Brown, of Springfield, Illinois. Their son,
Stuart 'Brown, is a lawyer of that city. 2, John T.; 3,
Frank; 4, Robert L.; 5, Virginia; and 6, Hannah Stuart.
The McKinleys.
The other daughter of David and Jane Logan — sister
of General Den. and Colonel John — married Dr. Andrew
McKinley, of Culpepper county, Virginia. She came
with her husband to Lincoln county at an early day, and,
like the others, found a refuge in St. Asaphs. Dr. Mc-
Kinley died in Lincoln in 1786; his wife survived him.
One of their daughters was the second wife of her cousin,
David Logan, son of Colonel John and father of lion.
Stephen T. Logan ; and the wife of Colonel L. T. Thurston,
of Louisville, was the offspring of that marriage. Judge
John McKinley, son of Dr. Andrew- McKinley and Mary
Logan, was born in Culpepper county in 1780. During
the first year of the present century, he was admitted to
the liar in Frankfort ; he continued to practice law" suc-
cessfully in Kentucky until 1818. He then removed to
Alabama. From that state he was elected, in 1826, to fill
a vacancy in the United States Senate; at the end of the
term was re-elected and served another. In 1838 he was
elected a representative in Congress, and in 1887 was ap-
pointed associate justice of the United States Supreme
Court. lie discharged the responsible duties of the latter
The Logans. 227
position with fidelity and ability until bis death, in 1852, in
the city of Louisville. — [Biographical Encyclopedia of Ken-
tucky^ In person, Judge McKinley was tall, his figure ro-
bust, and presence commanding. In Alabama he married
Juliana Bryan. Their daughter married Alexander Pope
Churchill, who represented Jefferson in the legislature,
1839-50, and was colonel of a Kentucky regiment in the war
with Mexico. Colonel Churchill's daughter, Julia, married
D. A. January, of St. Louis. His second daughter, Mary
Moss, is the wife of her kinsman, Alexander Pope Hum-
phrey, son of the eloquent divine and elegant scholar,
the late Dr. E. P. Humphrey, of Louisville ; the son has
an enviable position at the Louisville bar, is a man of
scholarly attainments and brilliant talents. Andrew Mc-
Kinley, son of the judge, was register of the Kentucky
Land Office, 1855-59, and now resides in St. Louis. His
wife was a Miss Wilcox — daughter of Senator Crittenden's
third wife by her first husband. Mrs. Crittenden was a
daughter of Dr. James Moss. Her mother was a Miss
Woodson, granddaughter of Colonel John Woodson, of
Albemarle county, Virginia, whose wife was Dorothea,
daughter of Isham Randolph, of Dungeness, and sister of
President Jefferson's mother. One of Andrew McKinley's
daughters is the wife of St. John Boyle, of Louisville —
sou of General J. T., and grandson of Judge John Boyle,
of the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
John Logan, of Botetourt.
Traditions preserved among various branches of the
Logan family represent the John Logan who came from
Botetourt to Lincoln county to have been a first cousin of
General Ben. Logan and his brothers ; and, although there
is no known record evidence to sustain those traditions,
the personal resemblance of their descendants, the same-
ness of given names among them, and other circumstances,
contribute to verify their correctness. It is believed that
this John Logan was a son of the James Logan who was
a soldier from Augusta in the French and Indian War,
and a brother of the James Logan who married Hannah
228 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Irvine, and was the ancestor of so many ministers; and
that the first-named James was a brother of David, the
father of General Ben. Logan. Yet it may be, that this
John was a son of the John Logan who was a contribu-
ting member of Rev. John Brown's New Providence con-
gregation in 1754, who was also a brother of David Logan.
This John Logan came to Lincoln after his kinsmen had
made their settlement in that county, was for many years
a ruling elder in the first Presbyterian Church in Stan-
ford, and was buried in the Old Buffalo Presbyterian Cem-
etery. His wife was Ann McClure, who was probably a
sister of Jane McClure, who married Colonel John Logan.
They had seven children: 1. William married Sally Hos-
kins. 2. Elizabeth married John Paxton : and Prof. James
Love, of Liberty, Missouri, is their grandson. 8. John
married Miss McKinley, probably a sister of Judge John
McKinley. 4. Mary married James Lo^an, of whom
hereafter. 5. Sarah married Samuel Davidson, an elder
brother of Colonel James Davidson. (>. Nancy married
William Paxton ; and several families of Paxtons in Lin-
coln and in Missouri, as well as the families of R. W. and
Jackson' Givens, of Lincoln, are her descendants. 7. Hugh
married his kinswoman, Hannah Briggs, and left many
descendants in Garrard, Lincoln, and Missouri; Miss Sa-
mantha Logan, of Louisville, is his granddaughter.
The James Logan who married John Logan's daughter,
Mary, was a native of Ireland, and if related to his wife
at all, they certainly had no common ancestor in America.
They had a number of children. The late Gordon Logan,
of Shelbyville, was one of their sons, and Emmitt G.
Logan, the editor of the "Louisville Times," is one of
their grandsons. The wife of Gordon Logan — Mary E.
Ballon — was a great-granddaughter of Rev. William Mar-
shall, one of the most eloquent of the pioneer Baptist
ministers of Kentucky, and a younger brother of Colonel
Thomas Marshall: the wife of Rev. Win. Marshall was
Mary Ann Pickett. Emmitt (I. Logan, and the sons of
his brother Ben., who died at Hopkinsville some months
The Logans. 229
since, are said to be tlie only descendants of James and
Mary Logan who bear the name.
What has been here written relates to a Presbyterian
family of plain people; not to the rich, nor to the fashion-
able, still less to the aristocratic, — as a grotesque combina-
tion of pretension, innate coarseness, opaqne dullness and
illiteracy, is sometimes called by those in this country who
do not exactly understand the terms they employ. None
of them lived in a "palatial residence : " not one of them
was ever " in the swim," nor sought to be in it ; they had
not that peculiar and indefinable sort of" social position"
which the weak ascribe to mere wealth, and which rarely
survives a second generation. The standing they had
among their neighbors, and wherever any of them lived,
was theirs by birthright, and came without scuffling; it
was of the kind that people of sense all over the world
concede to mental vigor and moral worth, and w T as only
the natural recognition by others of their possession of
these qualities and of their public services. The progeni-
tors of these people in Virginia and in Kentucky were
eminently respectable and intelligent, types of the race by
which the Valley of Virginia was peopled, and of the
early Kentucky pioneers ; — high types, it is true, but not
the less surely types of the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who
settled that Valley, who w T ere the leading, aggressive spir-
its in the earliest colonization of Kentucky, and who im-
pressed their mental characteristics and martial ardor
upon' the generations which followed them. The facts
show how, in this blessed land, unaided save by their own
talents and energies, the most unassuming may rise to the
highest offices of the state ; and that, when the descend-
ants of such a race stand firmly by the sound principles of
morality and religion transmitted to them by those who
have gone before, the gifts of God follow T them in all their
branches.
230 Historic Families of Kentucky.
THE ALLENS.
Most happily there are in this republican country but
few large inherited fortunes, and no hereditary rank. The
Shakespeares, Bacons, Miltons, Fredericks, and Napoleons
have failed to transmit their transcendent srenius. Yet
talents of a very high order are often hereditable, and
marked moral qualities are frequently transmitted through
the generations, here and elsewhere over the world, wher-
ever the waters run. It was a favorite sentiment of
Carlyle, the apostle of heroism, that when a hardy, good
stock of humanity once takes root in a land it never dies
out, remaining always, sometime obscured it may be, yet
always capable of bearing good and sound fruit.
Among other Scotch who left their native land to escape
religious persecution, and found homes in the North of
Ireland, was a family of Aliens. One of the descendants
of this family, named James Allen, and of the Presby-
terian faith, lost his life in one of the numerous political
agitations which distracted Ireland during the first half
of the last century. There was no tradition, however
vague, that the ancestors of this James Allen had ever
been connected with or allied to the nobility or gentry ot
either Scotland or Ireland. The station of the family was
with the respectable middle class; they disported no coat-
of-arms, nor laid claim to any aristocratic descent, whether
near or distant. The Allen who fell was as reputable in
character as he was respectable in station, and was the
owner of a small freehold estate. After his death, his
widow determined to emigrate to the American colonies,
sold the small property belonging to the family in Ireland,
transmitted the proceeds by an agent to be invested in a
new home in Pennsylvania near the Virginia line, and in
time followed, with her younger children, to find, upon
her arrival, that no deed had been taken for the land she
had bought, and that she and her offspring were without
The Aliens. 231
home or money among strangers. Fortunately the sur-
soundings of their lives had made them self-reliant and
accustomed them to the idea of making their own way.
They still possessed that rugged personal independence
which proceeds from proud self-respect and a conscious-
ness of capacity to " hold one's own " with one's fellows.
With their own money they had paid for their passage,
and had bought the land on which they expected to live,
and which they had lost through the carelessness or
treachery of the agent the widow had trusted. Refusing
to succumb to adverse fortune, with brave hearts and
stout arms they all set in to win a new home and to wrest
success from the hands of chance. In time they found
their way to the Valley of Virginia, where so many of
their countrymen had settled, and where they prospered,
took root, and put forth branches. Some of their de-
scendants yet remain in Augusta and Rockbridge, while
others emancipated their slaves, and removed at an early
day to Ohio and Indiana. There are numerous other fam-
ilies of Aliens that trace their origin to ancestors who
emigrated from Ireland to the Valley, who have the same
given names, and physical attributes similar to those of
tlie descendants of this Irish widow; but no connection is
known to have existed between them, nor docs their his-
tory concern the reader.
One of the sons of the energetic widow Allen bore his
father's given name of James. Born in Ireland, and early
bereaved of his paternal protector, he came, when a lad,
with his mother to Virginia, was educated in the best
schools of the Valley, and having remained with his
mother and the family until they had secured comfortable
homes and were thriving, he then struck out for himself
to the West Indies in quest of fortune. There the years
of his early manhood were passed. Meeting rapidly with
greater success than his hopes had led him to anticipate,
he returned to his kindred in the Old Dominion and set-
tled among them in what is now Rockbridge county.
There he met, wooed, and wedded Mary Kelsey, or Kelsoe,
as the name is variously spelled by different members of
232 Historic Families of Kentucky.
the same general family. She, too, was of the Scotch-
Irish race. Little is known by the writer of this latter
family except that its material was sound, good, and
durable; in proof of which, it need only be stated that
Dr. David Nelson, the great preacher and author of the
able 'and widely-read work on infidelity, and Dr. Samuel
K. Nelson, at one time connected with Centre College, and
pastor of the Danville Presbyterian Church — two of the
foremost of the Presbyterian ministry more than half a
century ago — were descendants of one of the sisters of
the wife of dames Allen. Attracted by the fame of the
richer lands and wider field for enterprise afforded by
Kentucky, and with the hope of quicker and larger for-
tune to be won in the dark and bloody ground, all that
he had accumulated in Virginia was converted into money;
and in the year 1779, with Ids family in a wasron, he set
out across the mountains, braving the perils of the wilder-
ness, for the land of the bine grass and the canebrake, fol-
lowing the old road over which the earlier hunters and
settlers from the Holston had preceded him, remaining a
few days with Benjamin Logan, at St. Asaphs, and ending
his toilsome journey at Daugherty's Station, on Clark's
Run, about one and a half miles from Danville. There he
remained several months, forming the acquaintance of
and a warm friendship for Joseph and Jean Daviess, the
former a Virginian of Irish extraction, the latter a Vir-
ginian-horn woman of Scotch descent. Tiring of the con-
finement of the station, and anxious to remove, their
young families from contact with the rude associations in-
cident to border life in a fort, James Allen and Joseph
Daviess determined to hazard the perils of an exposed
and isolated location further down Clark's Run, where
they built two cabins, with a bloek-honse between ; — the
first cabins built in that section of Kentucky outside a fort
or station. There the stout-hearted friends lived for three
years, remote from neighbors, and in the midst of constant
dangers from savage warfare. Seldom, if ever, have there
sprung from two adjoining log cabins six more remark-
able men than the three sons of Joseph and dean Daviess —
The Aliens. i>38
Joseph Hamilton, Samuel, and Judge James Daviess — and
the sons of James Allen and Mary Kelsey — John, Joseph,
and James Allen. About the year 1784, James Allen
bought a large body of land near the present town of
Bloomfield, in Nelson county, and, after building upon it
a comfortable dwelling, returned to his cabin in Lincoln
for his family : but, when he bad conveyed his wife and
children to his new possessions, he found their intended
home in ashes, the Indians, during his absence, having
burned it and the sheltering 1 fort near which it was built.
With indomitable energy and unyielding will, another
home soon occupied the site of the one destroyed — a com-
modious residence which stands to this day, and was, until
recently, owned by his great-grandson, who bears bis
name. Here he lived to an extreme old age, in the midst
of broad acres bis rifle had helped to redeem from the In-
dians, and which had been converted by his labor from a
wild canebrake into a blooming and fruitful garden ; blessed
with abundance far beyond the rosiest dreams of the Irish
lad who had crossed the ocean with his widowed mother
nearly a century before, respected by all for the courage,
strong sense, and incorruptible integrity which were his
distinguishing characteristics, and with the public praise
of his offspring making sweet music for liis ears.
Colonel John Allen.
John, the first son of James Allen and Mary Kelsey. was
born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, on the 30th day of
December, 1771, and before he had attained the age of
eight years, accompanied his parents to Kentucky, walking
most of the way over the mountains. His opportunities
for attending school during the six following years were
limited by the exigencies of the situation of the family, in
constant peril from Indian forays; yet, under the direction of
his intelligent parents, with such assistance as the neighbor-
hood afforded, he had, at the age of fourteen, laid the founda-
tion of an excellent English education. In 1786, he attended
the school of Mr. Shackelford^ — an educated Virginian —
in Bardstown, under whose instruction he obtained a
--"- 1 Historic Families of Kentucky.
thorough knowledge of the rudiments of both Greek and
Latin, becoming an excellent grammarian in those lan-
guages. Afterward, he had the advantage of several years
instruction by the celebrated Dr. Priestley, the most
noted scholar of his day in the West, There his class-
mates were John Rowan,'John Pope, Felix Grundy, Archi-
bald Cameron, the able Presbyterian divine, and Ins former
playmate — the gifted Joseph Hamilton Daviess. Seldom
has a galaxy of intellectual stars of such magnitude as-
sembled themselves in the same class beneath the roof of a
log-cabin school-house; and able as all of them were, and
conspicuous as all became, not one of the group exhibited
greater capacity for the acquisition of knowledge, pos-
sessed more shining talents, or became more illustrious,
than John Allen. After completing his classical educa-
tion with Dr. Priestly, he visited relatives in Virginia, and
there attracted the attention and formed the acquaintance
of the distinguished Colonel Archibald Stuart — the father
of General A. II. H. Stuart, secretary of the interior under
Mr. Fillmore. Colonel Stuart was commissary of Colonel
Sam. McDowell's regiment, but in the battle of Guilford
fought as a private soldier; in the same engagement, bis
father, Major Alexander Stuart, was captured. Afterward,
Colonel Stuart distinguished himself as an aide of Gen-
eral Greene. After the Revolution, he studied law under
Mr. Jefferson, and soon rose to eminent distinction in his
profession, was a member of the Virginia convention
which ratified the Constitution of the United States, en-
joyed the friendship and esteem of most of the great lead-
ers, statesmen, and patriots of his day. and afterward be-
came one of the most able and learned jurists of his state.
Engaged in the trial of an important land suit in Pock-
bridge, he was struck with the extraordinary intelligence,
quick perceptions, and sound judgment displayed by a
youth of about twenty years of age, who had been intro-
duced as a witness, ami who had gained a knowledge of
the matters in issue bv having assisted in the survey of
the land in litigation while on a visit from Kentucky.
Seeking; an acquaintance with the youth, he ascertained
The Aliens. 235
that his name was John Allen, the son of a former citizen
of Rockbridge, then living in Kentucky ; and the inter-
view confirming all the prepossessions in his favor made
by the intelligence exhibited as a witness, Colonel Stuart
proposed to him to become a lawyer, which he ascertained
to be the dearest wish of the young man's heart, and
which he was prevented from indulging by the want of
ready money to defray the expenses during the time that
must be passed in the study of the profession ; — all he had
being not more than sufficient to supply him with cloth-
ing for about three years. High-spirited, and unwilling
to accept favors or benefits from a stranger, he at first re-
jected the proposition of Colonel Stuart to go home with
him, become a member of his family, and to study law
under his instruction; but finally yielded to it, upon the
representation that the benefits accruing would be recip-
rocal, and that he could more than pay for his board and
instruction by the assistance he could render the generous
gentleman who sought to befriend him, and to give an
opening for the splendid talents he discerned beneath a
manner that was as modest as it was engaging. The
friendship thus auspiciously begun rapidly warmed and
ripened, and ceased only with the life of Allen, who con-
tinued an inmate of Colonel Stuart's family for several
years; in the meantime he devoted himself to his studies
with remarkable assiduity and concentration. These .being-
completed, he was persuaded by Colonel Stuart to accom-
pany him upon the circuit, in order to familiarize himself
with the practice and usages of the courts; — at one of
which he was induced to participate in a trial of a cause
in which Colonel Stuart was the sole counsel for the
plaintiff', in whose behalf it was arranged that Allen should
make the opening speech, to be followed by the counsel
for the defendant, Colonel Stuart to make the closing ar-
gument. What Allen said was sensible enough ; but it
was awkwardly delivered and with the most painful hesi-
tation ; and, overwhelmed with embarrassment as he was,
his " maiden " effort was a performance unsatisfactory to
his auditors, and most dampening to his own ambition.
236 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Smart, knowing the latent power that was within his pro-
tege, resolved at once to give him a second chance, and
• •hanged his tactics. Going to the defendant's counsel,
who was a friend, and explaining his purpose, lie urged
him, in his reply to Allen, to do so with such sharpness as
would arouse the fire that, needed only the stroke of the
flint to make it sparkle, and to "put him on his metal."
Assenting to this, the opposing counsel assailed Allen's
speech with unusual asperity and biting sarcasm. Seeing
Allen nettled and stung by the unexpected severity of the
criticism of his speech, Stuart told him he must reply,
and explained that, in order that Allen might do so, he
would surrender to his young associate the right to con-
clude for the plaintiff. No sooner had the opposing coun-
sel closed than Allen once more took the floor, completely
transformed in appearance as in manner; every trace of
bash fulness or embarrassment had disappeared, the hesi-
tancy of speech had vanished; his clear blue eye sparkled
and lightened with intelligence and ardor; his tall, slender
person, drawn to its full height, seemed instinct with ani-
mation and intellect; his gesticulation became as graceful
as it was impetuous; his voice rang out like the clear
tones of a bell ; his utterances were rapid, clear cut, elo-
quent, and elegant, while his logic was irresistible. The
ruse had succeeded admirably; the electrified audience
gave him the most rapt attention ; and, when he closed,
the most enthusiastic commendations from every quarter
greeted the orator just awakened to a sense of his own
genius. A speedy explanation from Stuart that he had
stimulated the assault upon him removed every trace of
resentment from his amiable temper, and the three had a
hearty laugh over the ruse and its happy results. The
partnership between Colonel Stuart and John Allen was
dissolved, 1795. by the return of the latter to Kentucky.
In 1799, Stuart went upon the bench, where he illustrated
tlie highest qualities of the jurist, and in his life the most
amiable characteristics of the gentleman.
Upon his return to Kentucky, Mr. Allen located in
Shelby county ; there first entered upon the practice of
The Aliens. 287
his profession in this state, outstripped all competition and
almost immediately placed himself in the very first rank of
the brilliant generation which then gave the common-
wealth a fame which still clings to her in tradition. In
Shelby he met and married Jane, the oldest daughter of
General Benjamin Logan and Ann Montgomery, an ad-
mirable woman, possessed of personal comeliness and rare
mental endowments — a worthy mate for such a man. In
1800, he was elected to represent Shelby in the state legis-
lature ; and at a tjfrne when there was no beaten road, but
the whole future policy of the yet infant commonwealth
had to be formed; when new questions of finance had to
be decided, and the relations of the state to her sisters and
to the general government had to be determined ; he ex-
hibited the highest qualities of the thoughtful, patriotic
statesman. Removing to Frankfort, in order to be nearer
the court of appeals and the federal courts, lie was elected
to the house of representatives from the county in 1803,
and was re-elected in 1804, '05, '06. At the bar, in tic
legislative councils of the state, his highest powers ami
most shining talents were put to the severest tests by
ever-recurring collisions with Joseph H. Daviess, Henry
Clay, Felix Grundy, John Rowan, Jesse Bledsoe, Ishani
Talbott, John Boyle, old Humphrey Marshall, John
Brown, John Breckinridge, John Pope, and the Bardins ; —
any one of whom would have been recognized as a great
ruler of men in any age and in any country ;. their equals
have not since been found among the sons of Kentucky ;
and very seldom, if ever, has any land over which the free
sun flings his radiant smile contained an equal number of
men of the same generation who were their superiors.
At the bar, on the hustings, in the legislative halls, as an
eloquent advocate, an impassioned and magnetic popular
orator, and a thoroughly-equipped debater, among all
these able and brilliant men, John Allen had hut two
rivals — his old friend and playmate of the log-cabin days,
Joseph Hamilton Daviess, and the " Mill Boy of the Han-
over Slashes,'' Henry Clay. Nor was he the inferior of
either in that knightly courage that always compelled re-
238 Historic Families of Kentucky.
spect, nor in any grace or gift that wins or leads the minds
or moves the hearts of men. In the judgment of all who
knew him, had he lived, his reputation and fame would
not have been dimmed even by those of Henry Clay.
Such was the success attending his forensic efforts, there
was scarcely a case of importance for hundreds of miles
around in which he was not retained; every-where in
requisition, his services readily commanded the largest
fees. In 1806, he was associated with Mr. Clay in the de-
fense of Aaron Burr, and in the memorable scene in the
federal court-room at Frankfort it was he who first clashed
with the fiery Daviess, then the able and distinguished
United States Attorney for Kentucky.
Elected Vice-President in 1801, Burr had lost the con-
fidence of the Republican Democrats, of which party he
had been a member; and had quarrelled with President
Jefferson. Becoming a candidate for governor of ISTew
York in opposition to the regular Republican-Democratic
candidate in order to retrieve his falling fortunes, he was
defeated mainly by the influence of the statesman, Alex-
ander Hamilton. The latter had spoken and written of
Burr in injurious terms, which aggravated the hatred of a
man already goaded to desperation by his loss of power
and popularity ; unquestionably the language used by
Hamilton justified the challenge that was sent by his
enemy, if the so-called code of honor be accepted as a
guide. Conscious of this, and that his own lapses from
morality in other respects precluded him from assigning his
well-matured convictions against the practice of duelling
as a reason for declining the combat, Hamilton accepted
the challenge, and fell before Burr's unerring aim. Burr
found himself abandoned by the mass of the Democrats,
regarded with abhorrence by the Federalists, and banished
from all the legitimate and honorable walks of ambition.
In this desperate state of his political fortunes, he sought
the West, and became deeply involved in schemes as des-
perate and daring as any which the annals of ill-regulated
ambition can furnish. The groundwork of his plan, un-
doubtedly, was to organize a military force upon the western
The Aliens. 239
waters, descend the Mississippi, and wrest from Spain an
indefinite portion of her territory adjoining- the Gulf of
Mexico. The South-western portion of the United States,
embracing Xew Orleans and the adjacent territory, was,
either by force or persuasion, to become a part of the new
empire, of which New Orleans was to become the capital,
and Burr the chief, under some one of the many names
which, in modern times, disguise despotic power under a
republican guise. These were the essential and indis-
pensable features of the plan. But, if circumstances were
favorable, the project was to extend much farther, and the
whole country west of the Alleghenies was to be wrested
from the American Union, and to become a portion of this
new and magnificent empire. — [McClung.~\ The attention
of the reader will not be occupied with the details of the
plans, nor by the movements by which Burr sought to ac-
complish his schemes. The idea of separation from the
eastern states had been much agitated in Kentucky, and
that agitation had left material for the accomplished con-
spirator to work upon to advantage. John Adair heartily
indorsed and stood ready to co-operate with his project,
so far as it meditated an attack upon the Spanish prov-
inces; and General Wilkinson gave Burr every reason to
believe that he would be assisted by that restless intriguer.
The motion made by Daviess, the United States Attorney,
on November 3, 1806, for process to compel the attendance
of Burr before the Federal District Court at Frankfort,
presided over by Judge Ilary Innes, to answer to a charge
of a high misdemeanor, in organizing a military expedi-
tion against a friendly power, from within the jurisdiction
and territory of the United States, was supported by the
affidavit of Daviess himself, setting forth, with great ac-
curacy, the preparations which were then being made by
Burr. After considering the motion two days, it was
overruled by Judge Innes. Shortly after this action had
been taken by the judge, Burr, who had been at Lexing-
ton, entered the court-house, and, after insinuating that
Daviess had taken advantage of his absence to make it,
requested the judge to entertain the motion then, and de-
240 Historic Families of Kentucky.
clared that he had voluntarily attended, so that the pros-
ecutor might have an opportunity to prove his charges.
Daviess accepted the challenge, and, after conferring with
the marsh. il of the court, announced his opinion that he
could have his witnesses in attendance on the following
Wednesday. On that day Daviess discovered that one
of his most important witnesses, Davis Floyd, was ab-
sent — conveniently absent — and, with manifest reluctance,
asked a postponement of the case. Judge Innes refused
to grant the postponement, and immediately discharged
the grand jury. Accompanied by Henry Clay and John
Allen as his counsel, Burr entered the court-room, ex-
pressed his regret that the grand jury had been discharged,
and inquired the reason; which Daviess stated, adding
that Floyd was attending a meeting of the territorial legis-
lature of Indiana. Burr repudiated the purposes attributed
to him by Daviess, and at his instance another day was
set for the appearance of the witnesses before the grand
jury. Upon the 25th of November, Daviess informed the
court that Floyd would attend on the 2d of December fol-
lowing; another grand jury was summoned for that day.
When it came, Burr, attended by Clay and Allen, again
came into court, and sat as if indifferently awaiting an
expected attack. But Daviess was compelled to announce
his inability to proceed on account of the absence of John
Adair, whose evidence was indispensable, who had been
properly summoned, and had absented himself; and asked
another postponement, and an attachment for Adair to
compel his attendance. Burr remained silent. Allen
opened the discussion in opposition to the motion of Da-
viess with all the fire and zeal of his nature. Allen con-
lined himself to the legal questions and technicalities in-
volved; in which he had the advantage of Daviess, as a
sufficient time had not elapsed to have given him the legal
right to the rule he had asked for against Adair. The en-
trance of Clay into this discussion was the signal for the
commencement of the most passionate and bitter person-
alities between him and Daviess, in which Clay had the
audience, with whom the Federal principles of Daviess
The Aliens. 241
were most odious, entirely on his side. Judge Lines re-
fused to retain the grand jury unless some business was
brought before them. To gain time, Daviess sent up to
the grand jury an indictment against Adair, which was
returned " not a true bill."' His motion for an attachment
airainst Adair was refused bv the court. Daviess asked an
adjournment until the next day. In a private interview in
the interval, Daviess obtained from the judge an expres-
sion of opinion that it would be allowable for him to at-
tend the grand jury in their room, and examine the wit-
nesses. When the court convened the next morning, he
made a motion accordingly; it was resisted by Allen and
Clay, and refused by the court. The grand jury retired;
such witnesses as had attended were sworn and examined;
and, in the absence of those by whom alone Daviess could
have sustained his charge, the jury returned : tw Not a true
bill :" as Daviess expected. Going further than this, the
grand jury returned into court a written paper, signed by
all of them, completely exonerating Burr from the accu-
sation preferred against him. Allen moved that a copy of
this report should be taken and published in the newspa-
pers, which was granted ; and the acquittal of Burr was
celebrated by a grand ball, in which the accomplished con-
spirator was the hero and lion of the night — [McClung.]
Clay and Allen had satisfied the public, already captured
by the graceful address, elegant manners and easy effront-
ery of Burr, that their client was the victim of the per-
sonal and political hatred of the Federalists, of whom Da-
viess and the family of his wife were the most obnoxious
because the more conspicuous, the boldest, and the most
open and candid in their speech. Subsequent events vin-
dicated the motives, the judgment, and actions of Daviess,
incontestably demonstrated that he had thoroughly un-
derstood the designs of Burr and his associates, and had,
with surprising accuracy, set forth and described the prepa-
rations then being made by him, and cleared the fame of
that brilliant genius and most ardent and unselfish of pa-
16
242 Historic Fam Uns of Kentucky.
triots from the unmerited obloquy with which for a time
he was overwhelmed.
It has been urged that Daviess was premature in his mo-
tions. His preparation of his case ; his carefulness of de-
tails in a matter of such magnitude ; and even his capacity
as a lawyer have been made the subject of invidious criti-
cism. Yet it is certain that neither forethought nor care
on his part could have secured the attendance of witnesses
whose interest and determination were to be absent; and
it may well be doubted if any evidence whatever could
have secured the conviction of Burr in the state of public
sentiment in Kentucky. Though foiled in his immediate
purpose, the action of Daviess was not without results the
most important. By directing public attention to and
boldly denouncing the designs of Burr as treasonable in
their nature, it aroused the reflecting to a realization of
their real character, placed the unwary on their guard,
by compelling Burr and his coadjutors to disavow the
purposes attributed to them it estopped them from
openly defending and maintaining their schemes, and com-
pelled them to refrain from what might soon have culmi-
nated not only in a most formidable filibustering expedi-
tion against Spain, but in a widespread and dangerous
revolt against the Union. To his counsel, Burr gave writ-
ten assurances of the injustice of the accusations. And
even old Humphrey Marshall so far relented from his in-
tense hostility as to place on record his own conviction,
that Allen had neither complicity in nor knowledge of the
schemes of the wily plotter, whose ambitious dreams had
led him to aspire to becoming the Cresar in an empire com-
prising Mexico, the Louisiana territory, and, ultimately, the
whole of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. The hostility
between Clay and Daviess, engendered by the acrimonious
personalities that passed between them, came near result-
ing in a duel, in which one or the other of those gifted
and gallant men would probably have fallen ; and, accom-
panied by Dr. Louis Marshall, whose sister he had mar-
ried, Daviess, in anticipation of the meeting, went to the
residence of Col. Richard C. Anderson, in Jefferson county,
The Aliens. 243
to prepare for it. (Col. Anderson's wife was a second
cousin of Dr. Marshall and of Mrs. Daviess). The interpo-
sition of friends prevented the catastrophe. Daviess was
reserved for a glorious death at Tippecanoe, when lead-
ins: a charge he had himself advised against the Indians,
while Clay lived to earn an enduring fame as orator, pa-
triot, and statesman. Between Daviess and Allen there
was no interruption of the personal friendship which be-
gan in the rude log cabins on Clarke's Run, and which sur-
vived all collisions at the bar and all political differences.
In domestic life John Allen was one of the most exemplary
of men. His morals were pure; his disposition affection-
ate and amiable. Still he was not free from the influence
of that pernicious public sentiment that sanctioned, per-
haps stimulated duelling. In the duel on the Kentucky
river, between John Rowan and Dr. Chambers, in which
the latter fell with a bullet through his heart, Allen and
Daviess were the seconds of their former classmate. For
an insult offered in the court room, Allen called Isham
Talbott to the field ; a fight was prevented by an ample
apology made by Talbott, on the ground, where Allen
awaited him.
In 1807, Allen was elected to the Kentucky Senate from
Franklin, and held that place until 1810. In 1808, he be-
came a candidate for governor against the veteran General
Charles Scott, whose heroic and distinguished military
record extended from Braddock's defeat to Wayne's vic-
tory at the Fallen Timbers. Allen's canvass was one of
remarkable brilliancy and power. The old soldier, shrewd
as he was blunt, did not attempt to answer his young and
splendidly-gifted competitor; but, assenting to all of his
positions, complimented him upon the eloquence that was
made the more charming by scholarly attainments; and
expressed pride in the part he had himself taken in the
glorious struggles by which the country had been won
from the British, wrested from the savage, and redeemed
from the wilderness, so that the rose and expectancy of
the fair state, like Allen, might be educated and given a
Held in which their talents could win wealth, honor, and
244 Historic Families of Kentucky.
renown. He urged the people to transfer the gifted orator
to Congress, or to the federal senate, where he would re-
flect lustre upon the state, and achieve for himself laurels
that time could not wither, rather than bury his talents in
the office of Governor; — a position, he argued, which af-
forded no opportunities for Allen's powers, required only
corn-field sense, firmness, and an honest purpose to do
right, and was a fitting reward for a rough-riding, untu-
tored old soldier like himself, whose life had been too
much occupied with hard fighting to have enabled him to
learn much from books. Such an appeal from one of
Scott's prestige for unselfish gallantry was not to be re-
sisted by Kentuckians, who went in crowds to hear Allen,
and turned out by thousands to vote for Scott. Humphrey
Marshall intimates, too, that in the reaction which set in
upon the full disclosure of Burr's plans the popular indig-
nation extended to his counsel, and helped to swell Scott's
majority. In 1810 Allen was re-elected to the senate
from Shelby. The generations that succeeded him have
cause to regret that none of his speeches were ever re-
ported. His greatest achievements, and most brilliant ef-
forts, were at the bar; there he had no superior in the
commonwealth.
When the War of 1812 commenced, all the surround-
ings of John Allen prompted him to yield to a spirit of
patriotic elation which impelled him to the front. It was
not for such as he to remain in inglorious safety in peace-
ful Kentucky while calls for help were borne on every
breeze that swept from Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. His
experience with Scott in the campaign for governor was
well calculated to arouse within him an honorable ambi-
tion for military distinction. His playmate and friend, his
antagonist in a generous rivalry — Daviess — on the fatal
7th of November, 1811, had already fallen. On the 5th of
June, 1812, John Allen was commissioned as colonel of
the First Regiment of Kentucky Riflemen — the first regi-
ment raised for service against the British, in Kentucky,
in that war. The commission was issued by Governor
Charles Scott, was countersigned by Jesse Bledsoe as sec-
The Aliens. 245
retary of state, and the written part of it is in the hand-
writing of Judge Stephen Trigg Logan, afterward of
Illinois. That it was immediately accepted is evidenced
by the indorsement on its back by Martin D. Hardin.
His military career was brief; it had a glorious ending at
the disaster of the melancholy Raisin. The hardships of
the memorable campaign in the dead of the ensuing
winter, are pictured in his private letters to his wife.
Those letters tell of the departure and results of the ex-
pedition against Mississinewa, or " Turtlestown," as Col-
onel Allen called the principal Indian town. Frequent
mention is made in them of " Little Bland " Ballard, son
of the old Indian fighter of the same name; and of the
gallant Simpson, an attached friend whom he had induced
to study law, and in whose early distinction in that pro-
fession he had a pardonable pride. They give details con-
cerning George Madison, the second major of the com-
mand, and afterward governor; of Martin D. Hardin, the
first major, who had married his wife's sister; and of her
young brothers, Dr. Ben. and Robert Logan. One of the
letters informs Mrs. Allen of the death of Lawba, son of
the Chief Moluntha, whose life had been saved by Lytle,
who had been adopted and reared by Mrs. Allen's father,
General Logan, and who ever afterward called himscli
" Captain Logan." In the War of 1812, Captain Logan
rendered valuable services to General Harrison. Wounded
by unjust imputations upon his fidelity, he determined to
vindicate it by some deed of daring, and for that purpose
left the camp in company with the Indian braves, Captain
Johnny and Bright Horn. At noon of the same day — No-
vember 22, 1812 — they were surprised by the Potawatamie
chief, Winnemac ; Elliott, a half-breed ; and five other
Indians. They were disarmed by their captors, but Cap--
tain Logan so won upon the confidence of Winnemac that
their arms were restored. Logan, having communicated
his purpose to Captain Johnny and Bright Horn, seized
the first opportunity of attacking the party of Winnemac,
who, with four of his party, was killed in the fight that
followed, while the other two saved themselves by flight.
246 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Logan was shot through the body and mortally wounded,
but rode on horseback to General Winchester's camp,
which he reached the next morning. After lingering in
great pain three days, he died, and was buried with the
honors of war. In the midst of his agony, he was seen to
smile, and, on being questioned, explained that when he
recalled to mind the manner in which he had seen Captain
Johnny seal]) Winnemac, while at the same time watching
the movements of the others of Winnemac's party to pre-
vent them from shooting him, he could not keep from
laughing. Logan left a dying request that Major Hardin
would convey his children to Kentucky, and rear them
with the whites ; Hardin endeavored to comply with the
request, but the Indians of the village in which they
lived, and their mother, a bad woman, would not per-
mit it.
The last letter ever written by Colonel Allen was on the
night of the 21st of January, 1813 — the night before the
battle — was addressed to his old preceptor and friend,
Judge Archibald Stuart, and is still in the possession of
Hon. A. H. II. Stuart, of Staunton. After describing in
detail the relative positions of the opposing forces, and
dwelling upon the certainty of an engagement the ensuing
day, he concluded : " We meet the enemy to-morrow. I
trust we will render a good account of ourselves, or that I
will never live to bear the tale of our disgrace."' He was
not disappointed in the fate he craved in case of defeat —
a disaster which clothed all Kentucky in mourning for
the flower of the state there stricken down. Though
grievously wounded in the thigh. Colonel Allen several
times attempted to rally his men, entreating them to halt
ami sell their lives as dearly as possible. He had fallen
back about two miles toward the fort, when, wearied and
exhausted, and probably disdaining to survive defeat, he
sat down upon a log, determined to await his fate. An
Indian chief observing him to be an officer of distinction,
and anxious to take him prisoner, as soon as he came near
Allen, threw his rifle across his la}), and told him to sur-
render and he should be safe. But another savage having
The Aliens. 247
at the same time advanced with hostile demonstrations,
Colonel Allen, with one stroke of his sword, laid him dead
at his feet. A third Indian, who was near, immediately
shot him through the heart. The body was never recov-
ered. Thus fell one of Kentucky's first, greatest, and
purest citizens. The blood of young Robert Logan also
mingled itself with the swift current of the Raisin. The
only portrait of Colonel Allen known to be in existence is
in the possession of Judge ¥m, M. Dickson, of Avondale,
who married his granddaughter. He was more than six
feet in height, was slenderly but compactly and gracefully
built; his hair was sandy, complexion florid, and skin
thin ; his eyes were large, clear, and bright, and of a very
deep blue; — his whole appearance plainly indicated his
Scoto-Celtic extraction.
The Crittendens.
Four daughters of Colonel John Allen and Jane Logan
transmitted to their children the rich heritage of his fame.
The oldest daughter, Anna Maria Allen, was probably
born about the year 1802. On the 14th of May, 1818, she
married Henry, <Tne f>f the four talented. sonsQof Major
John Crittenden. The latter was a nat/ve or Virginia, ot
English descent. In the Revolution he was a lieutenant
of one of the Virginia regiments of the Continental army,
and afterward a major of the Virginia state line. After
the close of that struggle, he came to Kentucky, and in
1783 and 1784, when there were but three counties in the
District of Kentucky, was the representative from Fayette
in the Virginia House of Burgesses. His reputation
among his contemporaries, as handed down by them, was
that of a brave soldier and efficient officer, a public-spirited
and patriotic citizen, and a candid, honorable, and intelli-
gent man. If a tree may be judged by its fruit, it will
be unnecessary to add to this contemporary estimate of
his virtues further than to say, that he was the father of
John J., Thomas T., Henry, and Robert Crittenden, and
of the wife of Judge Hary Innes Thornton. The sons
were gallant men, of strong intellects and brilliant gifts,
ir»- *
248 Historic Families of Kentucky.
cultivated in mind and of captivating address, high types
of gentlemen and of Kentuckians. The elder brother,
John Jordan, was twelve times elected to the state house
of representatives, and was six times chosen speaker of
that body; he was secretary of state under James T.
Morehead; governor of the state; a representative, and
three times a senator in Congress; and was twice attorney-
general of the United States. His courage in battle was
made as conspicuous at the Thames, where he acted as
aide to Shelby, as his patriotism was made on every oc-
casion when it was tested. Thomas T. Crittenden, the
next brother, was frequently in the legislature, was secre-
tary of state under Metcalfe, and a distinguished judge.
Robert was governor of the Arkansas Territory, and a
brilliant member of Congress from that state. Of Henry,
Collins says that he "devoted himself to agricultural pur-
suits, was nevertheless so conspicuous for talent that his
countrymen insisted on their right occasionally to with-
draw him from the labors of the farm to those of the pub-
lic councils." The wife of Major John Crittenden —
mother of these brothers — was Judith Harris. On the
paternal side, she was of Scotch blood. Her mother, a
Miss Jordan, was a member of an intellectual and edu-
cated family of French Huguenots. Henry Crittenden
was born in Woodford county. May 24, 1792. Receiving
a good classical education, he did not study a profession,
but added the pursuit of a manufacturer to that of a
farmer. In these were buried talents that would have
won him fame in any profession. His was an amiable
temper, a handsome person, and a most winning manner.
As a public speaker, it is said he was the equal of his old-
est brother. He had been subpenaed as a witness in a
case in winch John IT. "Waring was a party. The des-
perado sent him word that, if he gave his testimony, he
(Waring) would kill him. Despising the menace, Mr.
Crittenden testified to the facts; and the murderer em-
braced the first opportunity presented, when Crittenden
was not on guard, by stabbing him in the abdomen. Of
fever resulting from this wound, Henry Crittenden died,
The Aliens. 249
about two years after receiving it, on the 21st of Decem-
ber, 1834. John Allen, the oldest son of Henry Critten-
den and Anna Maria Allen, was at one time marshal of
the Louisville Chancery Court, and afterward for years
was a clerk in the auditor's office. He married a daugh-
ter of Richard Jackson, of Franklin county, and had issue.
William Logan, the second son of Henry Crittenden,
graduated with credit at West Point, served as an officer
in the regular army in the war with Mexico; resigned to
embark in the Lopez expedition against Cuba; was capt-
ured at Cardenas; was sentenced to death by the Span-
iards, refused to kneel or to have his eyes bandaged, and
with his own hand gave the signal for the volley of mus-
ketry which pierced his breast with many wounds. The
third son, named Henry — a talented and lovable man —
died unmarried in 1860. The fourth and youngest son or
Henry Crittenden, and Anna Maria Allen — Thomas T.
Crittenden — graduated at Centre College in 1855; mar-
ried Carrie Jackson, in Frankfort, in November, 185f>;
commenced the practice of law in Missouri ; was lieuten-
ant-colonel of the Seventh Missouri Federal Cavalry dur-
ing the civil war; was twice a representative in Congress
from the Lexington, Missouri, District, and was four years
governor of that state. Governor Crittenden is now a
resident of Kansas City, where he is a successful lawyer,
and the president of a national bank.
The Murrays.
After the death of Henry. Crittenden, his widow mar-
ried Colonel David R. Murray, of Cloverport, Kentucky.
This gentleman was the son of Scotch-Irish parents who
emigrated, in 1790, from Virginia to Washington county,
Kentucky, where he was born, in 1793. At the age of
nineteen years, he volunteered as a soldier in the War of
1812. At the close of hostilities, he engaged in mercan-
tile business in Springfield, Kentucky; afterward remov-
ing to Hardinsburg, Breckinridge county, he continued in
commercial pursuits until his death, in May, 1871. Col-
onel Murray was three times sent to the legislature from
250 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Breckinridge. He was a man of sense, integrity, high
character, and a consistent Presbyterian. His first wife
was a Miss Huston, cousin to his second wife: they had
several children. Colonel Murray and Anna Maria Allen
had four sons — John Allen, Eli Huston, Logan C, and
David R. Murray. Of these, John Allen Murray repre-
sented Breckinridge in the legislature, 1867-69. After-
ward, he was judge of the criminal court of his judicial
district. He married twice, and has issue. Judge Murray
is a successful lawyer of Cloverport. Eli H. Murray, the
second son, was horn at Cloverport, February 10, 1843,
and was well educated under private tutors. In 1861, at
the age of eighteen, he recruited a company for the Third
Kentucky Union Cavalry (Colonel James S. Jackson), and
was elected its captain. For good conduct, he was pro-
moted major in November of that year, and, August 13,
lst;2, was promoted colonel, continuing in the service until
the close of the war. He was engaged in all the cam-
paigns under Buell, Rosecrans, and Thomas; and com-
manded half of the cavalry force in Sherman's march to
the sea. At Corinth, he commanded his own regiment;
at Chattanooga, he commanded a brigade; he fought gal-
lantly in the battles of Dalton, Resaca, Iuka, and Shiloh.
For good conduct in these campaigns, and in that of Sher-
man's march, he was commissioned a brigadier-general
before he was twenty-two years old. Placed in command
of the South-western District of Kentucky, his activity
in military affairs commanded the most favorable notice
of the government; while his integrity, good sense, and
conservatism in civil matters won the respect of the people
of all parties. When the war closed, he studied law, gracL-
uating with honor in the Louisville Law School in 1866.
By General Grant he was appointed United States Mar-
shal for Kentucky in 186 ( J, and held the place seven years.
By President Hayes, in 1880, he was appointed governor
of Utah, and held the place until 1885. His administra-
tion in that territory was distinguished by the fearlessness
and vigor with which he enforced the laws and maintained
the authority of the government. He now resides in Salt
The Aliens. 251
Lake City. January 18, 1876, General Murray married, in
Louisville, Evelyn Neale ; they have several children. He
is over six feet high, his presence commanding, his coun-
tenance handsome, his manners dignified and winning.
The third son of Colonel D. R. Murray and Anna Maria
Allen — Logan Crittenden — was horn August 15, 1845;
was educated at home, and at Princeton College, New
Jersey, where he graduated, in 1866. In 1870, he was ap-
pointed cashier of the Kentucky National Bank of Louis-
ville, and established for himself a valuable reputation as
a financier. He held that position for twelve years, and
until, on the organization of the United States National
Bank of New York, he resigned his position in Louisville
to accept that of vice-president of the latter bank. He is
now its president, and for several years has been president
of the National Bankers' Association of the United States.
On the 6th of November, 1866, Mr. Murray married Hattie,
daughter of A. A. Gordon, of Louisville. Her father was
a descendant of a brother of the wife of the " Blind
Preacher" pictured by Wirt — Rev. Mr. Waddell. Her
mother was a granddaughter of Alexander Scott Bullitt.
They have four children. David P., the fourth and
youngest son of Colonel Murray, was a senator from
Breckinridge, 1877-81, and is now a practicing lawyer of
that county. He is- married, and has issue.
Mrs. Murray (Anna Maria Allen), was an earnest, yes,
an aggressive Presbyterian. Her home was, for many
years, the hospitable resting-place of every minister of the
gospel who entered the town in which she lived. She was
uncommonly intelligent and well informed; careless of
forms and mere conventionalities, she grasped and easily
comprehended that which was real and valuable. Her
mind was masculine in its breadth and strength. With
these endowments she had the comeliness which attracts,
and the sympathetic tenderness which adorns true woman-
hood. She died in 1877.
252 Historic Families of Kentucky.
The Butlers.
Eliza Sarah, second daughter of Col. John Allen and
Jane Logan, was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, in
September, 1806. Losing her father in childhood, and her
mother in a few years following him to the grave, a part
of hei- girlhood was passed in the family of Martin D.
Hardin, her uncle by marriage. At the early age of six-
teen years, in 1822, she married Pierce Butler, the young-
est son of Pierce Butler and Mildred Hawkins. If, in this
country, there are any families which can properly be called
" historic," surely the " Butlers of the Pennsylvania line,"
or " the fighting Butlers," as they are sometimes called,
may well be regarded as constituting one of those families.
The record in the family Bible of the progenitor of this
family in America states, that Mr. Thomas Butler " was _
born in the Parish of Kilkenny, £ ity of W tddtrw; Ire- .
land, April 6th, 1720; married Eleanor Parker (daughter
of Anthony Parker, of county of Wexford), October 26,
1741." Their oldest son, Richard Butler, was born in St.
Bridget's parish, Dublin, April 1, 1743. The uniform
family tradition is, that Thomas Butler was an officer of
ordnance in the British army, engaged in some act of re-
bellion against the crown, and for a considerable time con-
cealed himself in London. There he was joined by his de-
voted wife, and there, in St. Andrews, January 6, 1745, their
second son, William, was born. Several years passed be-
fore a suitable opportunity occurred of escaping to Amer-
ica. But, in the year 1748, the family left Britain, and
the third son, Thomas, was born at sea, on shipboard, May
28, 1748. They settled in Pennsylvania, and Mary, their
oldest daughter, was born in that province, Nov. 3, 1749;
Rebecca, the second daughter, was born in Lancaster, Penn-
sylvania, September 19, 1751; Pierce, the fourth son, was
born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, April 4, 1760; Edward,
the fifth son, at Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, March 20,
1762; and Eleanor, the third daughter, was born at Car-
lisle, December 31, 1763. The vague, almost intangible
tradition, or alleged tradition, that Thomas Butler, of Kil-
The Aliens. 253
kenny, was related to the families of the same surname,
who have for centuries home the titles of Ormonde, Dun-
boyne, Carrick, and others, was treated by his descendants
in Kentucky with an indifference that amounted to actual
contempt. It was sufficient for those staunch and con-
sistent republicans, that he was in station a gentleman, a
man of education and (if honor; that his was a sterling
character, and that in the Revolution he was an active pa-
triot ; — those were all the titles of nobility to which they
attached any value. While all of his sons were in the
army, Thomas Butler put to use the knowledge he had ob-
tained in the ordnance department of the British army,
by establishing and operating a manufactory of arms for
the Americans. When those sons were absent on duty a
threatened outbreak of tin 1 western Indians, in 1781, made
their father volunteer for the defense of the frontier. His
neighbors protesting against the action of the old man,
Eleanor, his brave wife, responded : " Let him go ; I can
get along without him, and raise a little to help feed
the army besides; and the country needs every man who
can shoulder a musket." Thomas and Eleanor Butler
were Episcopalians. This was the family, and not one
of Connecticut, as has been erroneously stated, to whom
Washington referred, when, seated at his table and sur-
rounded by officers, he gave the toast : " The Butlers and
their five sons." The family was in some way related to
the Colonel John Butler, of ISTew York, the son-in-law of
Sir William Johnson, and a British officer. When bidding
farewell to his sons, the parting injunction of Thomas
was, that if they ever met John Butler, they must l * bring
him his head." — [Pennsylvania Magazine.']
The two oldest sons of this pair, Richard and William
Butler, some years before the Revolution, were Indian
traders, at Old Chillicothe. The Indians rose against
them ; William escaped ; Richard was captured by the In-
dians, who put out one of his eyes, then adopted him into
their tribe, and married him to a squaw. In a few months
Richard made his way back to Pennsylvania, where, years
afterward, his son by the Indian woman visited his fam-
254 Historic Families of Kentucky.
ily at Pittsburg. About the year 1770, Richard and Will-
iam Butler resumed their partnership as Indian traders,
established their headquarters at Pittsburg, and pushed
their ventures not only through Ohio, Indiana and Illi-
nois, but even among the tribes beyond the Mississippi.
During the few years of peace that elapsed, they were sig-
nally successful, cultivated friendly relations with the red
men, and gained an acquaintance with their languages,
customs and modes of warfare, which was of service in
the period of strife that followed. At Pittsburg, these
two brothers were living and carrying on their trade, when,
in the spring of 1774, Dr. John Connolly, the nephew of
Lord Dunmore, in the name and by the authority of that
functionary, seized upon and dismantled Fort Pitt, which
Dunmore claimed to be on territory belonging to Virginia,
and built another which he called Fort Dunmore. Among
the Pennsylvanians whom Connolly arbitrarily arrested
was William Butler. The conduct of some of the Virgin-
ians, under Connolly's orders, excited the suspicions and
fears of the Indians, on whose peaceful settlement oppo-
site Fort Pitt they had fired. On the 16th of April, 1774,
a canoe, laden with peltries belonging to the Butler broth-
ers, was fired upon by the Indians, and a white man, one
of their employes, was killed. Five days after this oc-
currence, Connolly wrote to the settlers along the Ohio
tli at the Shawanese were not to be trusted, and urffinff
them to prepare to avenge any wrong the Indians might
do them. When his first canoe had been attacked, Will-
iam Butler had sent other agents to attend to his peltries
further down the Ohio, in the Shawanese country. Con-
nolly's letter had fallen into the hands of Michael Cresap,
who attacked one of the canoes dispatched by William
Butler, containing two friendly Indians and two white
men, and inhumanly butchered the reel men. Continuing
their murders, Cresap and Daniel Greathouse massacred
the friendly and unsuspecting Indians at Captina and Yel-
low creek, including the family of Logan — the celebrated
Mingo chief. These were the atrocities that led to the
war of 1774, known as Dunmore's. The letters of the
The Aliens. 255
Butlers, protesting against these proceedings, arc pre-
served in the American Archives and in the Colonial Rec-
ords of Pennsylvania.
Richard Butler warmly espoused the cause of Pennsyl-
vania in the dispute with Connolly, and raised a company
of one hundred men to sustain that colony. At the out-
break of the Revolution, he was appointed one of the
agents of the commissioners for the middle department of
Indians, for which service his experience and knowledge
of the red men peculiarly fitted him. His energy and ac-
tivity in this capacity received the especial thanks of the
Continental Congress, which, on the 16th of May, 1776,
expressed, by formal resolution, their regret that, by ac-
cepting the position, he had lost his opportunity of secur-
ing a commission in the Continental service, and promised
to promote him as soon as possible. On July 20, 1776,
upon the especial recommendation of the convention of
Pennsylvania, he was elected by Congress a major of one
of the battalions raised for the defense of the Western
frontier. From that date he continued in active service
until the close of the war. September 28, 1776, he was
commissioned by Congress a lieutenant-colonel of the
Pennsylvania line; on the 7th of June, 1777, he was com-
missioned colonel of the Fifth Pennsylvania regiment. In
the latter year, Daniel Morgan's celebrated rifle corps was
organized, and Richard Butler was made its lieutenant-
colonel. He was in the sharpest of the actions in New
Jersey, in the battles of Bemiss Heights and Stillwater;
in the latter severe engagement he led the rifle corps
against the right wing of the British army. He helped to
force Burgoyne to surrender, and was present when the
army of that commander capitulated; after which he had
a separate command of riflemen in New Jersey. He com-
manded the left column of the American army at the
storming of Stony Point. It was mainly through his ex-
ertions, and because of the love borne him by the soldiers,
that the revolt against Wayne was quelled. To his skill
in training, and to his example in leading them to victory,
the rifle corps was indebted for much of its celebrity and
2")(> Historic Families of Kentucky.
efficiency. lie was at the side of Arnold when the latter
was wounded in the attack on the Brunswicker's camp at
Saratoga. After the surrender of Cornwallis, he was with
Wayne in Georgia, and did not return until the echo of
the last gun had died away forever. According to the
terms of an act of Congress passed September 30, 1783,
he was made a brevet brigadier-general. Congress elected
him one of the commissioners to negotiate treaties with
the Six Nations and other Indian tribes. The other com-
missioners were George Rogers Clarke and General Sam-
uel Parsons. In publications designed to celebrate Clarke,
that adventurous and gallant officer has been styled the
commissioner-general on the occasion of the council with
the Indians at the mouth of the Miami, in 1786. General
Clarke had no such office, bore no such title ; he was a
fellow-commissioner with, the others — nothing more. In
the publications referred to, Clarke is represented to have
pushed off a table with his cane the Indian wampum of
black and white, which an impudent and truculent chief
had presented to signify that his braves were ready for
either peace or war, as the whites chose; and, when the
incensed warriors rose in their wrath at the insult, " to
have stamped with his foot upon the insulted symbol,"
and, ordering them to " begone, dogs," to have driven
them from his presence and cowed them into submission
by a glance of his Hashing eye. The needless misrepre-
sentation could not add to the fame of the hero who won
Illinois. This statement was not made public until 1830,
many years after General Clarke's death ; it can not be
shown to have had bis sanction or authority. He was
present when a scene somewhat similar did take place,
but he was not the actor therein. Richard Butler kept a
diary of the events of each day's journey, and of the
council itself, which was published in the "Olden Time."
That journal was written at the time of the occurrences
narrated; is plain, direct, unpretending, and in style is
worthy of the gallant soldier whom " Light Horse Harry
Lee" described as "the renowned second and rival of
Morgan at Saratoga." In this diary, Colonel Butler re-
The Aliens. 257
cords the speech made by Kekewepellethe, a Shawanee
captain ; then that made by John Harris ; and states that
when the latter had concluded, he "produced a large belt
and a road belt." This was on Sunday, January 29th.
The next day, the commissioners met again with the chiefs
of the Shawanese, who expressed dissatisfaction with the
boundaries allotted to that tribe, as designated in the ar-
ticles of the treaty which had been presented. The chiefs
of all the tribes were then sent for, and the commissioners
went into council. The articles were presented to the
formal council of all the tribes. Kekewepellethe ad-
dressed the commissioners in angry tones, and laid down
a black string. Colonel Butler replied, giving the Indians
, their choice of peace or war, telling them shortly that
neither the black string nor any other given in such a
manner would be received from them. Butler then took
up their black string, and contemptuously dashed it upon
the table; he threw down a black and white string; and
the commissioners left the council. In the afternoon,
the Shawanese sent a message to the commissioners, re-
questing their presence in the council. Upon their attend-
ance, Kekewepellethe expressed regret that there should
have been a misunderstanding, and, at the conclusion of
his humble remarks, presented a white string, and asked
for peace. The commissioners responded in appropriate
terms, and laid down a white string, signifying their will-
ingness to grant peace. Colonel Butler adds : " The coun-
cil then broke up. It was worthy of observation to see
the different degrees of agitation which appeared in the
young Indians ; at the delivery of Kekewepellethe's speech,
they appeared raised and ready for war; on the speech I
spoke, they appeared rather distressed and chagrined by
the contrast of the speeches, and convinced of the futility
of their arguments." — [Olden Time.']
Having thus discharged this duty, Colonel Richard But-
ler was chosen superintendent of Indian affairs for the
Northern district. In 1788, he was lieutenant of the
county of Alleghany, and held the office until his appoint-
17
258 Historic Families of Kentucky.
merit as judge of the court of common pleas for that
county. In 1790, he was chosen state senator. In 1791,
he was made major-general, and second in command un-
der St. Clair, in the expedition against the Western Indi-
ans ; and he commanded the right wing of the army in
the disastrous battle of November 4, 1791. His advice
having been rejected by St. Clair, General Butler antici-
pated the surprise that followed. The night before the
battle, he opened a bottle of wine at his mess-table, say-
ing to his companions: "Let us eat, drink and be merry,
for to-morrow we die.'" "In the battle of the next morn-
ing, the intrepid Butler closed his military career in death
— his coolness preserved and courage remaining unshaken
till the last moment of existence. "While enabled to keep
the field, his exertions were truly heroic. He repeatedly
led his men to the charge, and, with slaughter, drove the
enemy before him ; but being at length compelled to re-
tire to his tent, from the number and severity of his
wounds, he was receiving surgical aid, when a ferocious
warrior, rushing into his presence, gave him a mortal blow
with his tomahawk. But even then the gallant soldier
died not unrevenged. He had anticipated the catastrophe,
and discharging a pistol he held in his hand, lodged its
contents in the breast of his enemy, who, uttering a hide-
ous yell, fell by his side and expired." — [Garden's Revolu-
tionary Anecdotes."] Years after this battle, Cornplanter
returned to the widow of General Butler his sword and
medal as a member of the Order of the Cincinnati. Gen-
eral Butler married Maria, daughter of General James
Smith, of Pennsylvania. They had two sons and a daugh-
ter — William, James and Mary. The first was a lieuten-
ant in the navy, and died in the service, and on duty, in
the early part of the W r ar of 1812. The second was the
gallant captain of the famous " Pittsburg Blues," a com-
pany which fought well and received complimentary men-
tion for gallantry at Mississinewa and on other Woody
fields of that war. Captain James Butler married a
sister of Charles Wilkins, of Kentucky; they left three
children — John, Richard and Mary — of whom Richard
The Aliens. 259
married Miss Black, and left several children in California,
where he died. Mary, the daughter of General Richard
Butler, married Isaac Meason, a wealthy citizen of Penn-
sylvania. She is represented to have heen a woman of
rich mental endowments, and of high character. She died
at Unioutown, Pennsylvania, a few years since, at the age
of ninety-six years. Her grandson, Isaac Meason, resides
in Nashville, Tennessee.
William, the second son of Thomas Butler, the emi-
grant, and Eleanor Parker, entered the Revolutionary
army, January 6, 1776, as captain in Colonel Arthur St.
Clair's battalion ; October 7th of that year, was promoted
major; he served during the campaign in Canada; was
promoted lieutenant-colonel of the Fourth Pennsylvania
Regiment, for gallantry in the field. All through the war,
in the hardest-fought battles, he was conspicuous for cour-
age and good conduct. In 1788 he retired from the army,
and died in Pittsburg in 1789. His wife was Jane Car-
michael, of Pittsburg. They had four children — William,
Richard, Rebecca, and Harriet. The first was a lieutenant-
commandant in the navy, and died in the service, unmar-
ried. The second — Richard — was a lieutenant in the Sec-
ond Infantry of the regular army, commanded by his
uncle, Colonel Thomas Butler; was in the fight at St.
Clair's defeat, and was for some time in command at Fort
Laramie, which was erected on the site of the store burned
by General Logan, in Clarke's expedition. He was with
Wayne at the victory of the Fallen Timbers, and for a
time was assistant adjutant-general of Mad Anthony's
staff. With his regiment he went south, and was sta-
tioned at Fort Adams. While in Louisiana, he was ap-
pointed lieutenant-colonel of the Forty-fourth United
States Infantry ; was then stationed at ]STew Orleans, and
commanded his regiment in the battles at that place. In
the South he married a Miss Farrar, an heiress of Louis-
iana, resigned from the army, and became a wealthy sugar
planter. He and his wife, and his wife's brother, Captain
Farrar, died at Pass Christian, in 1820, of yellow fever.
Colonel William Butler's daughter, Harriet, married Cap-
260 Historic Families of Kentucky.
tain Moses Hook; and his daughter, Rebecca Butler, mar-
ried James McCutcheon, of Xew Orleans. Mrs. Mc-
Cutcheon's grandchildren now reside at Pass Christian,
Louisiana.
Thomas Butler, third son of .the emigrant, was a student
of law in the office of Judge Wilson, when, January 5,
1776, he was commissioned first lieutenant in his brother
William's company, St. Clair's battalion ; October 4th of
that year, for good conduct, he was promoted to be cap-
tain in the Third Pennsylvania. At the battle of Brandy-
wine, Alexander Hamilton, then an aide on the staff of
Washington, brought to him, upon the field, the thanks of
the commander-in-chief, " for his intrepid conduct in rally-
ing some retreating troops, and checking the enemy by a
severe fire ; and at Monmouth, General Wayne thanked
him for defending a defile, in the face of a severe fire from
the enemy, while Colonel Richard Butler's regiment made
good its retreat." He remained in the army until the
close of the war, taking part in many of the severest of
its battles ; then became a farmer in Pennsylvania. In
1791, before the outbreak of hostilities with the Indians,
he re-entered the army, and led his men to the front;
his rank was that of major. At St. Clair's defeat his
leg was broken by a ball ; but he kept his horse after
receiving the wound, and, on horseback, led a charge
against the savage warriors. With great difficulty, he
was finally removed from the field by Edward, his surviv-
ing and youngest brother. In 1794, he was lieutenant-col-
onel commandant of the Fourth Sub-L,egion, at Fort La-
fayette, Pittsburg, and, more by the influence of his name,
and by his threats, than by the force under his command,
prevented the insurgents in Shay's rebellion from seizing
that post. Not long after this he was ordered to the
South. The State of Georgia claimed to own what was
known as the Natchez district, and had enacted a statute
for the establishment of a land office therein. Among
other large sales of land Georgia had made, was one of
3,500,000 acres, embracing the present northern counties
of Alabama, to the " Tennessee Company." Spain claimed
The Aliens. 261
to own most of this territory, under her treaties with
France and Great Britain, and a diplomatic correspond-
ence was in progress between the United States and that
power in regard to their respective rights. In the mean-
time, the Choctaws, Creeks, Cherokees and Chickasaws
regarded with jealousy and bitter anger the projected seiz-
ure of their domain. The prompt action of Colonel But-
ler prevented an outbreak by the Indians. Zaehariah
Coxe had built a boat to transport an armed colony for the
seizure of the Muscle Shoals, on the Tennessee river, in
behalf of the "Tennessee Company," but Colonel Butler
prevented this by issuing an order to his troops at South-
West Point to keep a sharp lookout for the boat, and, if
necessary, to tire upon and sink it. A complication with
Spain was thus avoided. Colonel Thomas Butler was the
gallant officer who won the ill-will of General Wilkinson,
and was, by that conspirator, hounded to death. He died
September 7, 1805, and was then colonel of the Second
Infantry. His wife was Sarah Semple, of Pittsburg. They
had three sons and a daughter — Thomas, Robert, William
Edward and Lydia. The first was the able and distin-
guished Judge Butler, of Louisiana; ho married Anna
Ellis, of Mississippi ; they had four sons and four daugh-
ters — Pierce, Richard, Thomas, Edward, Margaret, Sarah,
Anna and Mary — all of whom, except Thomas, were living
in Louisiana in 1881. Robert, the second son of Colonel
Thomas Butler and Sarah Semple, an officer of the regular
army, was the adjutant-general of Jackson's army at New
Orleans, and of the Southern division, with the rank of
colonel. For his gallant and meritorious services he was
made a brevet brigadier-general. In 1821, he resigned
his commission in the army, ami was appointed surveyor-
general of public lands in Florida ; he died at Tullahoma, in
that state. General Robert Butler married Racliel, daughter
of Colonel Robert llavs and Jane Donelson ; her mother
was a sister of the wife of General Andrew Jackson. They
had four children — Thomas, Robert, Jane and Ellen. The
daughters married, respectively, Mr. Patton and Mr.
Hawkins. Robert Patton, of Tullahoma, is a son of the
262 Historic Families of Kentucky.
former. Win. Edward, third son of Colonel Thomas Butler,
a surgeon in the United States army, was also at the hattle
of New Orleans. At a hall given in that city, after the
victory, a wag, who had stepped upon his toes, apologized
"by saying, that " it was impossible for any one to move in
New Orleans without jostling or treading upon the toes of
a Butler" — alluding to the number of the name and fam-
ily who had been in the tight. lie, too, married a niece of
Mrs. Jackson, J 'atsey Hays; and bis sister, Lydia, mar-
ried Colonel Stokely Hays, a nephew of " Old Hickory's"
wife. Dr. Win. E. Butler lived at Jackson, Tennessee.
He had one son — William. Mrs. Lydia Butler Hays lived
at Nashville; she left a son and a daughter.
Edward Butler, the fifth son of the emigrant, was too
young to enter the army at the beginning of the Revolu-
tion, but, while still a mere hoy, was made an ensign in
the Ninth Pennsylvania, commanded by his brother Rich-
ard. January 28, 1779, he was promoted lieutenant for
meritorious service in the field, and continued in the active
service until 1783. At that time, he was a lieutenant in
the Second Pennsylvania. He was a captain at St. Clair's
defeat, was with Wayne in his successful campaign, and
was adjutant-general in Wayne's army in 170G; — a hand-
some, gallant soldier, and an accomplished gentleman, who
died at Springfield, Tennessee, May 0, 1803. His wife was
Isabella, daughter of Captain George Fowler, of the Brit-
ish Grenadiers. The latter, three times led the British
"forlorn hope " against the American lines, and, on enter-
ing their works, was presented by General Sir Robert
Pigott with a- grenadier's cap, "for bis desperate gal-
lantry." Captain Edward Butler had three sons and two
daughters; two of the sons died young; Caroline, one of
the daughters, married Robert Bell, of Louisiana; Eliza
Eleanor, the other, married John Donelson, of Alabama,
a nephew of Mrs. Jackson. The surviving son, Edward
George Washington Butler, was born in 1801, ami, on the
death of his father, was consigned to the guardianship of
General Andrew Jackson, in whose family the years of his
boyhood were passed. lie graduated from West Point, in
The Aliens. 263
1820, in the artillery corps ; served for a time on topo-
graphical and ordnance duty; in 1823, was assigned to
the staff of General E. P. Gaines, as aide; resigned, 28th
of May, 1831 ; was major-general of Louisiana militia in
1845; re-entered the regular army, as colonel of the Third
United States Dragoons, in 1847, and commanded the de-
partment of the Upper Rio Grande, Mexico, in that year
and the next; then was a planter until the civil war. Col-
onel E. G. W. Butler married, April 4, 1826, Frances
Parke, the oldest daughter of Colonel Lawrence Lewis
and "Nelly" Custis; her father was the nephew of Wash-
ington ; her mother, the granddaughter of Washington's
wife. They had two sons and two daughters — Edward G.
W., Lawrence Lewis, Mrs. Williamson, and Mrs. Turnbull,
of Louisiana. The first graduated at the University of
Virginia, at Harvard, and at the New Orleans Law School;
was secretary of legation at Berlin for six years; at the
beginning of the civil war, entered the Confederate army
as major of the Eleventh Louisiana Infantry; and died
gloriously in battle at Belmont, in 1861, desiring General
Polk to tell his father that he "had died like a Butler — in
the discharge of his duty." In delivering the message,
with his dead body, General Polk remarked to his father:
"You have reason to be proud of such a son, and to be
reconciled to such a death : " and General R. E. Lee wrote :
"I still grieve over the death of your gallant son. His
message to you, through General Polk, proves him a
hero." Lawrence Lewis, second son of Colonel E. G. W.
Butler and Frances Parke Lewis, graduated at the Uni-
versity of Virginia, and in the law schools of New Orleans,
and Paris, France, and commenced the practice in New
Orleans. Soon afterward, on the outbreak of civil war, he
went with Dewees' battalion to the Virginia peninsula;
then joined the Eleventh Louisiana Regiment at Colum-
bus, Kentucky, and served on the stalls of Generals Polk
and Wright until the termination of the conflict. He
married the daughter of Mr. Gay, a congressman from
Louisiana, and is successfully engaged in mercantile pur-
suits in St. Louis. In that city, Colonel E. G. W. Butler,
264 Historic Families of Kentucky.
a few months ago, passed away. Much of the account
here given of this historic family is taken from his letters.
Pierce, the fourth son of Thomas Butler and Eleanor
Parker, was commissioned first lieutenant in the Third
Pennsylvania, Colonel Thomas Craig's regiment, Septem-
ber 1, 1777, being then eighteen years old. He endured
the winter at Valley Forge, fought in the battle of Mon-
mouth, and in various other engagements, and took part
in the capture of Cornwallis, at Yorktown. He went with
Wayne to the South, and there remained until 1783. He
came out of the war with the rank of captain. The next
year, he came to Kentucky in a military capacity, and not
long after married Mildred Hawkins, who was then living
with her sister, the widow of Colonel John Todd. He
had part in several of the campaigns against the Indians,
before the separation of Kentucky from Virginia. By
Shelby he was appointed, in 1702, the first adjutant-gen-
eral of Kentucky, and continued to hold that office through
successive administrations, until the close of Shelby's sec-
ond term, in 1816. In that capacity, he organized the
Kentucky contingent which fought under Wayne, and was
with it at the Fallen Timbers. A writer in the Pennsyl-
vania Magazine asserts that he accompanied one of the
detachments of Kentuckians to the field, in 18J2. On all
occasions, he acquitted himself in a manner worthy of one
of the five brothers, of whom Lafayette, who knew them
all. wrote, in a letter still preserved and in the possession
of a connexion of the family: "When I wished a thing
well done, I ordered a Butler to do it." Captain Pierce
Butler and Mildred Hawkins first settled in what is now
Jessamine county, where Hickman creek empties itself
into the Kentucky. There their oldest son, Thomas
Langford Butler, was born, on the 10th of April, 1789.
He went into the War of 1812 at its beginning, and
remained in active service until its close. At New Orleans,
he was a captain and aide to '-Old Hickory," from whom
he received the most complimentary mention. For gal-
lantry, he was brevetted major. It would have been im-
possible lor a man who united the blood of Butler and ot
The Aliens. 265
Hawkins to have been otherwise than gallant. He repre-
sented Carroll county in the legislature, 1824-48. He died
in Louisville in 1881, aged ninety-two years. His wife
was his cousin — a Miss Hawkins. Their only daughter
married the late Philip O. Turpin, whose descendants live
in Texas and Kentucky : the only son of Mr. Turpin who
was old enough to hear arms — Butler Turpin — entered the
Confederate army in 1862, at the age of sixteen, and re-
mained in that service until Lee's surrender. Mr. Turpin
had two daughters ; — Fannie married Evan Southgate, a
soldier of the Confederate army, who died in that service;
and Sallie, who married Edward Southgate, a brother of
Evan, and who, when a boy, enlisted in the Confederate
arm v. remained with it until the close of the war, and is now
a prominent minister of the Methodist Church. From the
mouth of Hickman, Captain Pierce Butler removed to
Carrollton, Kentucky, and there his second and most dis-
tinguished son — William Orlando — was born, 19th of April,
1791. In the War of 1812 he was among the first to vol-
unteer as a private in Hart's company, and went imme-
diately to the front to the relief of Fort Wayne. In that
second struggle for independence, he was greatly distin-
guished. He was soon promoted to ensign in the Seven-
teenth Regular Infantry. In both battles of the Raisin,
bis daring and self-devotion were pre-eminently conspicu-
ous; in the tight on the 22d of January, 1813, he was
wounded and captured. In the attack at Pensacola, he
was captain of the Forty-fourth Infantry. He was at the
battle of New Orleans on December 1-3, 1814, as well as in
that of January 8, 1815. There a number of British
sharpshooters were covered by a large sugar-house, and
Captain Butler volunteered to go alone and burn it. He
had sneeeeded in his mission when a number of British
soldiers sprang from their places of concealment with their
rifles leveled at his head. He laughed, threw his sword
among the sugar-stalks, crying out, " I will be prisoner to
the man who gets my sword;" and, while the men were
scrambling for the weapon, he jumped from the blazing
building and effected his escape. Of his conduct in these
266 Historic Families of Kentucky.
battles, General Jackson reported that "he displayed the
heroic chivalry and calmness of judgment in the midst of
danger which distinguished the valuable officer in the hour
of battle." For his gallantry in the held, he was brevet-
ted major. In 1816, '17, lie was Jackson's aide; then re-
signed, and commenced the practice of the law at Carroll-
ton, ami was immediately sent to the legislature from Gal-
latin county, 1817-18. He represented his district in Con-
gress, 1839-43, and refused to be a candidate for a third
term. In 1844, he was the Democratic candidate against
Owsley for governor, and cut down the Whig majority
from 20,000 to 4,624. June, 1846, he was appointed
major-general of volunteers, and went to the assistance of
Taylor in Mexico. At Monterey, he was second in com-
mand, and acted an important part in the capture of that
stronghold. It was he who gave the order for the charge
which was led by Aleck McClung with the Mississippi
company of the brave Captain Willis. In the storming of
the ramparts, General Butler was severely wounded. lie
succeeded General Scott as commander-in-chief of the
army, which position he retained until the treaty of peace.
In 1848, he was the Democratic candidate for vice-presi-
dent on the ticket with Cass. In 1861, he was a member
of the peace conference. He died in 1881, in his ninety-
first year. General Butler married Eliza, daughter of
General Robert Todd; they had no issue. Richard Par-
ker, third son of Captain Pierce Butler, was a lawyer by
profession, but never practiced ; for many years he was clerk
of the Carroll Circuit Court. His first wife was a daugh-
ter of Rice Bullock, who was a member from the Ken-
tucky district of the Virginia convention which adopted
the federal constitution, and who, with Humphrey Mar-
shall and Robert Breckinridge, voted for that adoption.
The oldest daughter of Richard Butler and Miss Bullock
married John W. Menzies — a member of Congress from
the Covington district, 1861-63, and now judge of the
chancery court of that judicial district; their only daugh-
ter, Fanny Menzies — married her relative, Xenophon Haw-
kins, one of Morgan's Confederate soldiers. The other
The Aliens. 267
daughter of Richard Butler, Carrie, married Charles Pow-
ell, a Confederate soldier. After the death of his first
wife, Richard Butler married a daughter of the learned
Dr. Blythe, president of Hanover College. Captain Pierce
Butler's daughter, Caroline, was the second wife of Judge
James Pryor. The second wife of Dr. U. E. Ewing, a suc-
cessful physician of Louisville, and a man of sense and
force of character, was Captain Pierce Butler's daughter
Jane. Their oldest daughter, Mildred Ewing, in 1859,
married George B. Anderson, then a captain in the regular
army. He resigned, in 1861, to enter the Confederate
army ; was in the first battle of Manassas, and all through
the campaigns of 1862 on the Virginia peninsula, and
when he died from wounds received at Antietam, he was
a brigadier-general ; the Southern army contained no
braver soldier. His widow married, secondly, James M.
Carlisle, a distinguished lawyer of Washington city. Dr.
Ewing's second daughter, Eleanor Butler, married J. M.
Wright, who left the military academy at West Point, be-
fore graduating, to enter the Federal army; he was the
±<>}i of Major-General Wright, of the regular army, who,
during the war, was in command on the Pacific .coast. J.
M. Wright was made a captain on the staff" of General
Buell, and was with that officer at Shiloh, and in all of his
subsequent campaigns. He was on the staff of Gen. Boyle,
was Adjutant-General of Kentucky under Gov. McCreary,
and is now marshal of the United States Supreme Court.
The third daughter of Dr. Ewing and Jane Butler — Jane —
married George K. Speed, of Louisville, whose mother was
the niece of the poet Keats, and who was himself a Fed-
eral soldier.
The fourth son of Captain Pierce Butler and Mildred
Hawkins was named Pierce; he was bom at Carrollton,
October 4, 1794; graduated in the collegiate and law de-
partments of Transylvania University; commenced the
practice in Lexington; represented Fayette in the legis-
lature, 1820 ; removed to Versailles, and represented Wood-
ford in the legislature, 1821-22. In the latter year, Pierce
Butler married Eliza Sarah, daughter of Colonel John
268 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Allen and Jane Logan, and not long after moved to Shelby
county, where he continued to practice his profession with
eminent success. The people of Shelby sent him to the
legislature, 1829, '30, '32. Having removed to Louisville
as a larger field for practice, he represented that city in
the legislature, 1838-39, and in the senate, 1845-47. Prob-
ably no other man was ever sent to the general assembly
from four different counties of this state. Unlike his
brothers, he was a staunch Whig in politics. As a lawyer,
he was able and thorough ; and as an advocate and public
speaker at once ardent and brilliant. His eyes were large
and dark; his hair, a dark brown; his countenance hand-
some, noble, and animated ; his person rather smaller than
the average, but symmetrical and elegant in its proportions ;
his manners, which were graceful, had about them a dig-
nified reserved which invited confidence while they en-
forced respect and repelled familiarity; his spirit was bold
and high ; and, on points of integrity and honor, he was
scrupulous, punctilious, and immovable. In every com-
munity in which lie lived, Pierce Butler was respected
and honored as one of its leading and most upright citi-
zens. Hq died in Louisville, of cholera, in 1851. His
widow survived him until July 28, 1807, when she died, in
Maysville, Kentucky. This daughter of a " man whose
triumphs in the forum and conduct in the field had added
dignity and luster to the annals of the state, exhibited in
a remarkable degree that strength and acuteness of intel-
lect, that intrepidity of spirit, and that calm persistency ot
purpose which in stormier times had achieved the tri-
umphs of her illustrious sire. And yet, with all this mas-
culine force of intellect, there was nothing to awe or repel ;
she presented a combination of attractions as rare as it is
exquisite. Solidity of attainment with grace of expres-
sion, depth of cultivation with refinement of manner, dig-
nity of thought with delicacy of tone — all these combined
not only to impress upon her the stamp of intellectual su-
periority, but to render her the central charm and attrac-
tion of the circle in which she moved." The oldest son of
Pierce Butler and Eliza Sarah Allen — John Russell But-
The Aliens. 269
ler — was born in Shelby county in 1823; graduated at
Centre College, and in the Louisville Medical College ;
volunteered as a private soldier in the Mexican War, but
was soon transferred to the regulars, and promoted to lieu-
tenant ; continued in the service some time after the close
of that war, and left it with the rank of captain. In
1862, he raised a regiment of cavalry for the Confederate
service, and commanded it until the fall of 1864, when he
went to Canada to organize a force for the release of Con-
federate prisoners. Colonel J. Russ. Butler married Jane,
one of the daughters of that learned physician and culti-
vated gentleman, Dr. Charles W. Short. The father of
the latter, Peyton Short, was a native of Virginia, a mem-
ber of an influential family long seated in that colony, and
a younger brother of William Short, a distinguished diplo-
matist, who served the republic in its earlier years as min-
ister to Spain and other countries. Peyton Short came to
Kentucky while it was yet a district of Virginia, and in
1792 was chosen one of the first senators of the new com-
monwealth. His wife was a daughter of Hon. John Cleves
Symmes, of North Bend, who, after having been a soldier
in the Revolution, and a distinguished judge in New
Jersey, bought many thousands of acres in the North-
western Territory, and made his home on the banks of the
Ohio, at the spot which was subsecpiently made historic as
the site of the " log-cabin " of one of his sons-in-law, Gen-
eral Wm. Henry Harrison. The wife of Judge Symmes
was one of the Livingstons, of New Jersey and New
York — a name which has been made illustrious by the at-
tainments, talents, and public services of its many mem-
bers. Peyton Short and Miss Symmes had many children.
One of their daughters was the wife of Dr. Ben. Dud-
ley, the eminent physician and surgeon, of Lexington.
Another daughter married Edward Green, of Hopkins-
ville ; and a third, the elder James Weir, of Greenville.
The sons of Peyton Short — Judge William Short, of Ohio,
and Dr. Charles W. Short, of Louisville — inherited the
large estate of their uncle, the diplomatist, who died a
bachelor. Colonel J. Russ. Butler and Jane Short had
many children, who live in Louisville. Their oldest son,
270 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Pierce, married a daughter of General Jere T. Boyle, and
granddaughter of the able Judge John Boyle. Colonel
Butler is dead; his widow resides in Louisville. The sec-
ond sou of Pierce Butler and Eliza S. Allen was named
for his uncle — ¥m. O. Butler. When the war broke out,
lie was a cotton-planter in Mississippi ; he entered the
Confederate army in 1862, and remained in it until the sur-
render of Lee at Appomattox. At first, he was a private,
then a lieutenant in Morgan's cavalry. Having been
transferred to the command of General Wheeler, he was
made inspector-general on the staff of General Kelly, with
the rank of captain, was at the side of his chief when
Kelly was killed, and had his own horse shot from under
him by the same volley. Captain Wm. 0. Butler married
Ella Coburn, a great-granddaughter of Judge John Co-
burn and Mary Moss. Judge Coburn was first a district
judge of Mason county, then circuit judge, then judge of
the territory of Orleans under Jefferson. Collins describes
him as "one of the most indefatigable, efficient, and ac-
complished political writers of his day." Captain Wm. 0.
Butler and Ella Coburn have several children, and reside
at Carrollton, Kentucky. The only daughter of Pierce
Butler and Eliza S. Allen — Nannie — was born in Louis-
ville, July 21, 1840 ; married Thos. M. Green, in Louis-
ville, April 24, 1860; died in Maysville, June 11, 1881.
Mr. Green is the son of John Green, of Lincoln, and Mary
Keith Marshall; they had nine children — all living.
By some it will be regarded as noteworthy that of this
Butler family all the male members were officers in the
Revolution; the five sons of that generation all had sons,
and of these all but one were in the War of 1812, and thai
one was then only nine years old; the Pennsylvania Maga-
zine states that at least nine were officers in the war with
Mexico; and in the civil war every male descendant of
Captain Pierce Butler (who settled in Kentucky) who was
capable of bearing arms was in the Confederate army,
while the husbands of all his female descendants who
were capable of bearing arms were either in the Confed-
erate or Federal army — with one exception, the writer of
these lines.
The Aliens. 271
The Parkers.
Jane Logan Allen, third daughter of Colonel John
Allen and Jane Logan, was horn in Shelby county about
the year 1808, and there married Dr. John Todd Parker,
then of Woodford county.
It will be remembered that Mary and Elizabeth Todd,
daughters of Robert Todd, the emigrant (who was the
grandfather of Colonel John and Generals Levi and Rob-
ert Todd) and Isabella Bodley, married, respectively, two
brothers — James and William Parker. James Parker and
Mary Todd had four sons and four daughters : one of the
sons was Robert Parker, a major in the Revolution.
William Parker and Elizabeth Todd had one son, who
was also a major, and a daughter : the' latter became the
the second wife of
General Andrew Porter,
of Pennsylvania. This able and celebrated man was the
son of Robert Porter, who emigrated from near London-
derry, Ireland, to America, in 1720, and settled on a farm
near Norristown, Pennsylvania. He was a Presbyterian
elder. He had nine sons, eight of whom became farmers
or tradesmen. His son, Andrew, was born on the 24th of
September, 1743. The Pennsylvania Magazine states that
from childhood Andrew exhibited an extraordinary appe-
tite for books, reading and mastering the contents of all
he could procure. The effort of his father to force him,
at the age of eighteen, to learn a trade met with a signal
failure; it was soon discovered that he was too intent on
the acquisition of knowledge, and too little disposed to
manual labor, to be useful in any handicraft. He had al-
ready mastered, without aid, some of the higher branches
of mathematics, for which he had disclosed a taste and re-
markable talent ; and it is related that he spoiled all the
tools in the shop in which he was employed in construct-
ing a sun dial from a suitable stone he had selected from
an adjacent soap-stone quarry. Attempts to confine him
to the labors of the farm proving equally futile, his father,
272 Historic Families of Kentucky.
in despair, determined to fit him for the calling of a coun-
try schoolmaster. He was accordingly sent, for a short
time, to the school of a Mr. Mennon, where he made won-
derful progress in his mathematical studies; and then
opened a small school in the vicinity of his home. In a
conversation with Dr. David Rittenhouse, upon whom he
had called to borrow some work on conic sections, that
gentleman was so impressed by the extent of the informa-
tion and unusual capacity of the boy, that he urged him
to leave the country, proceed to Philadelphia, and there
establish a school. Acting upon this counsel, he removed
to Philadelphia, in 1767, and there opened an English and
mathematical school, which he conducted with great repu-
tation for nine years, during which time he had become
an accurate astronomer. His success as a teacher was
such that, in 1776, his pupils numbered more than one
hundred, the fees affording him an abundant living for his
family of five children, who had recently lost their mother.
Abandoning all selfish considerations, he responded to his
country's call in the spring of 1776 ; in June, was made a
captain of marines, which position he soon exchanged for
the same rank in the artillery ; and in this corps continued
to serve until the close of the war. He was successively
promoted major, lieutenant-colonel, lieutenant-colonel com-
mandant, and colonel of the Fourth Regiment of Artillery,
which latter rank and command he had at the disband-
ing of the army. In the cannonade at Trenton he was
personally engaged, as well as in the battles of Princeton,
Brandy wine, and Germantown ; in the first, he received
on the field in person the thanks and praise of Washing-
ton; and in the last he stood by bis guns while nearly his
whole command were killed or captured. In 1779, he was
detached for duty under General Clinton in Sullivan's
operations against the Indians, and was in the battle at
Tioga Point. When the siege of Yorktown was deter-
mined upon, he protested against the order which deprived
him of the opportunity to further participate in active
field operations by directing him to Philadelphia to super-
intend the laboratory at which the various kinds of am-
The Aliens. 273
munition used in the siege were prepared ; but his ob-
jections were silenced by a letter written to him by Wash-
ington, in which the commander-in-chief said : " Our suc-
cess depends much on the manner in which our cartridges,
bombs, and matches are prepared. The eye of science is
required to superintend their preparation. . . . There
is not an officer in the army better qualified than yourself
for the station I have assigned }'ou." After the Revolu-
tion, General Porter was for years employed as the com-
missary of the commission which determined the boundary
lines between Virginia and Pennsylvania and what is now
Ohio. He was made brigadier-general, and then major-
general, of the Pennsylvania militia, and then surveyor-
general of that state. In the war of 1812 he was ap-
pointed by President Madison brigadier-general in the
regular arm}', and secretary of war, but declined both po-
sitions on the ground that a younger man might serve the
country more efficiently. When a captain in the army,
General Porter had a misunderstanding with Major Eus-
tace in regard to a question of rank, which was at first
deemed trifling. Not long after, Porter, on entering the
dining-room of a hotel, heard Major Eustace say: "He is
nothing but a d d schoolmaster." On asking Eustace
whether the words had been applied to him, and receiving
an affirmative response, Porter rejoined : "I have been a
schoolmaster, sir, and have not forgotten my vocation ; "
and, drawing his sword, struck Eustace with the back of
it on the shoulders. In the duel which was at once ar-
arranged, Major Eustace was shot through the heart at
the first fire. A court-martial acquitted Porter, and the
colonial council promoted him to the place which had been
filled by Eustace. — [Pennsylvania 3Tagazine.~\
General Andrew Porter was twice married ; — first, to
Elizabeth McDowell, on the 10th of March, 1767 ; and,
secondly, to Elizabeth, daughter of William Parker and
Elizabeth Todd, on the 20th of May, 1777 ; the brother of
his second wife was the gallant Major Parker, of the Revo-
lution. By the first wife, he had five children : Robert,
who was an eminent lawyer and judge in Pennsylvania;
18
274 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Elizabeth Rittenhouse, of whom hereafter; Mary, who
married her cousin, Robert Porter, and settled in Ken-
tucky; and Andrew and William, who respectively be-
came wealthy merchants in Xew Orleans and Baltimore.
By his second wife — Elizabeth Parker — General Porter
had eight children : Charlotte married Robert Brooke, and
had sons who were distinguished as lawyers and success-
ful as merchants in Philadelphia ; John Ewing changed
his name to Parker, and became an eminent physician in
North Carolina; Harriet was the wife of Colonel Thomas
McKeen ; David Rittenhouse was the distinguished gov-
ernor of Pennsylvania, and General Horace Porter was his
son; George Bryan, an eminent lawyer, was governor of
Michigan territory under Jackson, and his son, Andrew,
fought at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Cherubusco,
and Chapultepec, was «bre vetted lieutenant-colonel for
gallant and meritorious conduct, as a brigadier-general
in the civil war, fought all through McClellan's peninsula
campaign, and died in Europe from disease contracted in the
service; and James Madison Porter, who, after having at-
tained distinction at the bar, in the deliberative bodies of
Pennsjdvania, and on the bench, was secretary of war under
Tyler. Andrew Parker, son of James Madison Porter,
graduated at West Point, entered the regular army, and
was commissary-general under McClellan and Thomas. —
[Pennsylvan ia Magazine^
Elizabeth Rittenhouse Porter, the oldest daughter of
General Andrew Porter by his first wife, married Robert
Parker, son of James Parker and Mary Todd, and first
cousin of General Porter's second wife. He was a major
in the Revolution. This marriage took place in 1790, and
the newly-wedded pair made their bridal trip from Penn-
sylvania to Lexington, Kentucky, on horseback. In Lex-
ington Major Robert Parker is said to have built the first
brick house erected in that city. Major Robert Parker
and Elizabeth R. Porter had four sons and two daughters.
Their oldest daughter married Major Richardson, whose
son by her — John C. Richardson — became an eminent
Lawyer in St. Louis. The other daughter married Robert
S. Todd, of Lexington, and was the mother of the wife of
The Aliens. 275
President Lincoln. The oldest son — Dr. James P. Par-
ker — married the daughter of General Milliken, who gave
his name to the historic " bend" above Vicksburg ; and
their son, John, is a man of wealth in New Orleans.
Another son of Major Robert Parker — Andrew — was the
father of Carilla Parker, who is the wife of Mr. "William
Irvine, of Boyle county ; they are the parents of many
children — among them, Rev. Alexander Irvine, a worthy"
Presbyterian minister.
The fourth son of Major Robert Parker — Dr. John
Todd — married Jane Logan Allen, as already stated. Dr.
Parker was a well-educated, skillful, and successful phy-
sician ; his wife was a woman of mental and personal at-
tractions. They had six children who grew to maturity :
Betty, a woman of strong mind and fluent speech, mar-
ried Samuel Boyd; she died November 6, 1888, leaving
two married daughters, who reside in Cass county, Mis-
souri. Annie Marie Parker married Wm. M. Dickson, in
Lexington, October 19, 1852. She was a woman of talent.
Her husband graduated at Miami University, built up a
large law practice in Cincinnati, was for years judge of
one of the principal courts of that city, and enjoys an en-
viable reputation as a man of integrity, as a well-equipped
lawyer and an able judge, and as a vigorous contributor
to the press and to historical and literary magazines.*
Mrs. Dickson is dead. Three of her children live : Parker,
William Lowry, and Jennie. Colonel Robert Henry, third
child of Dr. John Todd Parker, has a large family, and
lives in Abilene, Texas. Dr. John Allen Parker, the
fourth child, died soon after the war. Mary Eliza, fifth
child, married John J. Dickson, a brother of Judge Dick-
son ; they live in Iowa. The sixth child of Dr. John Par-
ker and Jane Logan Allen — James Porter Parker — grad-
uated with credit at West Point, was a colonel of artillery
in the Confederate army, and is now a civil engineer in
New Mexico.
* The paternal grandfather of Judge Dickson was Scotch and for
fifty years a Presbyterian minister. His mother was a Lowry, and de-
scended from the Campbells and Ochiltrees of the Valley.
270 Historic Families of Kentucky.
Mary Kelsey, fourth daughter of Colonel John Allen
and Jane Logan, married General Thomas Newton, of
Little Rock, Arkansas. Their daughter, Anna, is the wife
of Colonel Richard Johnson, an editor and lawyer of Lit-
tle Eock, and a brother of the former senator from Arkan-
sas. Colonel Johnson was a Confederate soldier, and. is a
man of reputation as a political writer and in the legal
profession. Thomas and Robert Newton — sons of General
Newton and Mary K. Allen — were gallant officers in the
Confederate service, and are not less distinguished in civil
life.
Sarah Allen — daughter of the pioneer, James Allen, and
Mary Kelsey — first married Mr. Singleton, and then An-
drew Rowan. The latter was a brother of Judge John
Rowan, and was himself a man of marked intellect and
great force of character. The descendants of Sarah Allen
are scattered over the Green river country, and are highly
respectable in character, attainments, mental attributes,
and standing. The men acquitted themselves well as
officers in the Federal service. Her sons were Allen and
Stanley, and her daughter was Mary Singleton. Allen
had a son, Dr. William Singleton, who was a successful
physician and surgeon of the Third Kentucky Union Cav-
alry. He continued in the service until forced to leave it
by disease, contracted in the line of duty, from which he
died. One of his daughters married a son of Hon. Wm.
N. Sweeney, of Owensboro. Stanley Singleton left sev-
eral (laughters, one of whom married General A. M. Stout,
of the Federal army; another married John Johnston, of
McLean; a third married Dr. Davis, of Muhlenberg; and
the fourth, Mr. Newman, of Henderson. By Andrew
Rowan, Sarah Allen had a daughter, Eliza Rowan, who
married Mr. Harwood ; and a son, Joseph Allen Rowan,
who graduated at West Point, and died early and childless..
Joe Allen,
the second sou of James Allen and Mary Kelsey, was as
remarkable for the persistence with which he resisted
every effort to draw him into public life, for which he was
well adapted by education and a vigorous intellect, as he
The Aliens. 277
was for his uncommon strong practical sense, Lis benevo-
lence, his rich and racy humor, his integrity and utter
fearlessness. With his brother-in-law, Joseph Huston, he
removed to what was afterward Breckinridge county some
years before the beginning of this century, and while it
was still almost unpeopled. Indian raids had not ceased,
and in repelling them, and carrying the war into their
own territory north of the Ohio, the deliberate courage
and herculean frame and strength of the young Allen en-
abled him to do good service and effective fighting. In
two of the campaigns of the War of 1812, he was captain
of the advance-guard, or, as it was called, "the company
of spies." Twice was he offered, and as often refused, the
colonelcy of a regiment, alleging as his reason " that he
knew how to command his compan} T , but did not know
that he could command a larger body," which, he contended,
should always be placed under the orders of trained and
educated officers. At that early period, horse thieves had
collected in large numbers in Indiana, from whence they
made excursions into Kentuck}^. It was Joe Allen who
organized and led the band of Iventuckians against the
marauders, broke up and burned their settlements, killed
many of them, and dispersed their whole body. Upon his
return, he was asked what had become of the leader of
the gang ; and replied that the last he had seen of him was
through the sights of his rifle. The governor of Indiana
sent a body of soldiers to Hardinsburg to capture Allen?
who rallied his men, and made prisoners of the soldiers,
who then fraternized with their captors. On the organiza-
tion of Breckinridge county, in 1800, Joseph Allen was ap-
pointed clerk of the circuit court, held the office until
1852 under that appointment, and was then elected for six
additional years ; this was the single instance of his ever
being a candidate for any place. Albeit, a leader in all
public enterprises, a good lawyer, an electrical speaker,
personally greatly beloved, and in every way singularly
w^ell qualified for public affairs, Joe Allen resolutely turned
his back upon every proposition to enter public life. In
1803 he married Margaret Crawford,' the daughter of a
278 Historic Families of Kentucky.
highly-respectable former -who bad recently removed to
Breckinridge from Botetourt comity, Virginia. They had
five children. Jane Allen, their oldest daughter, married
John McClarty, a merchant of Hardinsburg, by whom she
had nine children ; one of these, Clinton McClarty, was
elected clerk of the house of representatives in 1859, was
a candidate for clerk of the court of appeals in 18(30, was
a soldier in the Confederate army, and is now a bank
officer in Louisiana. Horace, the second child of Joe
Allen, married Elizabeth Larue, of the comity of that
name ; their son, Joseph Allen, is a merchant in Louis-
ville, and their daughter, Mary L., married "Win. Piatt,
now of Barren county. Mary, the third child of Joseph
Allen, married Francis Peyton, a prominent lawyer. They
had six children — Joseph A. Peyton ; Cornelia, who mar-
ried J). C. Gannaway; Margaret, who first married Jas.
D. Morton, and then George Chick, of Breckinridge; Al-
fred H. and Ellen Peyton. Ellen, fourth child of Joe
Allen, married Dr. AVathen, of Breckinridge county.
Alfred Allen,
the fifth child of Joe Allen and Margaret Crawford, rep-
resented Breckinridge countv in the legislature in 1838—39 ;
was then appointed by Governor Clark commonwealth
attorney for that district, in which position he was con-
tinued, by successive appointments and an election, until
1856; in 1859, was the Whig candidate for lieutenant-
governor ; was re-elected to the legislature in 1861, and
continued in that capacity until 1866, when he resigned in
order to accept the consulship to Foochoo, China, where
he remained until recalled at his own request. Mr. Allen,
in 1853, married Mary E. Jennings, by whom he has two
children — Horace and Mary Allen.
The Hustons.
Margaret, the second daughter of James Allen and
Mary Kelsey, in the dawn of her womanhood married
Joseph Huston, and before the beginning of the century
settled in Breckinridere county. Her husband was a mem-
The Aliens. 279
ber of the legislature in 1813, and died about that time.
Margaret remained a widow, and until her death success-
fully conducted her own business affairs, which her sound
judgment, independent character, and a mind of masculine
clearness and vigor, enabled her to do with ease. She had
three children — Eli, Eliza, and Felix Huston. Eliza was
the first wife of Colonel David R. Murray, of Cloverport.
Eli Huston received an excellent academical and legal
education, but in his early manhood was disqualified from
the practice in Kentucky because of a duel in which he
was the challenging party, and which resulted unhappily
for both parties. Thus driven to other pursuits, he pros-
ecuted them with such diligence and success as soon ren-
dered him independent. His younger brother, Felix, who
had been involved on his account in the same duel, and
had like him suffered disqualification from the practice of
law, had wandered off into Mississippi, then the refuge of
adventurous spirits, and had there risen rapidly into prom-
inence in a profession which had been closed to them in
Kentucky. At the instance and upon the invitation of
the younger brother, Eli Huston joined him in Mississippi,
and soon gained high rank as a lawyer at the bar of
Natchez. After a very few years of practice, he was made
a circuit judge of the Natchez district, and died while an
incumbent of the office. Before the duel referred to, Eli
Huston had married, in Frankfort, a daughter of John
Morris, and granddaughter of Judge Ilary Innes. Their
children are all dead, their only living descendant being a
granddaughter, Mrs. Durell, of Arkansas. Felix, the
other son of Joseph Huston and Margaret Allen, had at-
tained his majority a short time before he forfeited his law
practice, and went to Mississippi. There the peculiar
quality called "pluck" was as essential to success at the
bar, at that time, as either brains or learning, and the man
was fortunate whose quality in that particular was not
subjected to the severest test at some point of his career.
Felix Huston, at the very outset of his residence in Missis-
sippi, demonstrated that his professional attainments were
in every way respectable, that his mental caliber was su-
280 Historic Families of Kentucky.
perior, and he embraced the very first occasion that pre-
sented itself in the course of his law practice to satisfy all
who were curious on the subject that he had no prejudice
against the smell of gunpowder. Possessed of a good
legal mind, of attractive oratorical gifts, high spirit, and
a commanding presence, he won reputation as an advo-
cate, an honorable standing as a lawyer and counsellor, and
pecuniary prosperity. He was the second of S. S. Prentiss
in his duel with Henry S. Foote, and of General Allen in
the duel with Alex. McClung in which Allen lost his life.
In the midst of this career, he was offered by Sam. Hous-
ton, then president of Texas, the supreme command of the
Texan army, on condition that he would recruit in the
states and equip two regiments for service in Texas. Am-
bitious for military distinction, he accepted the offer, com-
plied with the conditions, transported his men to Texas,
was appointed a major-general by Houston, and was placed
in temporary command of the Texan forces. Houston re-
fused to permit the invasion of Mexico, which had been
one of the stipulations of the contract. The quarrel that
resulted between General Huston and the Texan Presi-
dent culminated in the former being superseded in com-
mand by General Albert Sidney Johnston. Smarting un-
der a sense of ill-usage, and precluded by their relative
positions from seeking redress at the hands of the presi-
dent, General Huston, instead of maneuvering to under-
mine General Johnston, or, by abuse, to draw a challenge
from him, went straight to the end he sought by sending
him immediately a respectful but peremptory demand for
a meeting. The challenge was promptly accepted by John-
ston, who fell with a wound in the thigh that well-nigh
proved fatal. Huston, bitterly regretting his act, was un-
remitting in his attentions to his antagonist. They be-
came friends, and continued so through life. There was
much in common between the two men; though of differ-
ent breeds, they came from the same Scotch Irish race.
General Johnston derived his strong, well-marked features,
his every valuable mental and moral characteristic, and all
that he had in him that was good or heroic, or capable of
The Aliens. 281
becoming great, from his mother, the pious daughter of
Edward Harris — a plain Presbyterian elder. There was
precious little of the " cavalier" about him. General Felix
Huston fought several good battles with the Indians while
in the Texan service, the most important of which was
that of Plumb creek. Finding himself much embarrassed
by his large expenditures for Texas, he resumed the prac-
tice of law in Louisiana, and died about the time of the
beffinnino' of the civil war. General Felix Huston mar-
ried a Miss Dangerfield, a member of the Virginia family
of that name, and a descendant of Colonel Charles Mynn
Thruston, of the Revolution. They left several children,
who reside in Mississippi and Louisiaua.
James Allen, of Nelson.
The third and youngest son of James Allen, the pioneer,
and Mary Kelsey, bore the christian name of his father,
and remained upon the farm near Bloomtield, in Nelson
county, which that father had redeemed from the wilder-
ness. He represented Nelson in the legislature of 1825,
but his tastes inclined him to agricultural rather than to
professional pursuits, and rendered him averse to public
life. He was a man of strong mind, of high personal
character, and of undeviating integrity — qualities that
marked all his conduct, and entitled him to the influence
he exerted in the community in which he lived. James
Allen married Mary Read, of Woodford county. Their
only son, John Allen, accumulated a handsome fortune as
a merchant in Louisville, and died unmarried. Their
daughter, Mary Allen, married H. E. Rowland, and had one
son, James A. Rowland, who married Ada, daughter of
Hon. Simeon C. Anderson, formerly a member of Congress
from the Garrard district, and whose wife was a daughter
of Governor Owsley. He married secondly Ellen W. Suter,
by whom he had two children, both living. Mrs. Rowland
is still living near Bloomtield. Another daughter of James
Allen, Nancy, married a Mr. Allen, who was not related to
her ; they are both dead. The third daughter of James Al-
len and Mary Read — Amanda — married Charles Q. Arm-
282 Historic Families of Kentucky.
strong, a merchant of Louisville. They had five children.
Their only son, John Allen Armstrong, resides in Louis-
ville. Kate, the oldest daughter, is the wife of Captain John
H. Leathers, who was distinguished for gallantry in the
Confederate army, and is now the cashier of a bank in
Louisville. Annie E. Armstrong married Rev. E. H.
Pearce, an educated gentleman, who, in his early manhood,
was a successful teacher, and is now a prominent minister
of the Methodist Church. The other daughters of Mrs.
Amanda F. Armstrong — Mrs. Lottie A. OfFutt and Mrs.
Mattie Wilkinson — reside in Nelson countv.
In what has been written in the foregoing pages, the
purpose was to present the men and the families, an im-
perfect account of whom has been given, as fair types of
those who wrested Kentucky from the savage, redeemed
her waste places, carried the torch of learning into the
wilderness, founded the state, and left the impress of their
own characteristics upon her people. General Ben. Logan
and his brothers, Colonel John Hardin, the Todds, Colonel
Stephen Trigg, and others, were selected as types of the
fearless men of iron nerve who were among the earliest
and most successful of the stern warriors who won the
land, helped to extend the boundaries of eur country, af-
terward had an active part in the civil affairs of the dis-
trict, and molded political opinion in the commonwealth.
Men like these, with capacity for military combination,
and imbued with the ambition of empire, proved them-
selves in time of peace as competent in civic councils as
they had been efficient in the field, and their descendants
have ever since been useful and influential in all public
affairs; while the mere guides and scouts, whose instincts,
passions, and rude aspirations were those of the hunter
only, passed away, leaving scarce a trace of their existence
upon the body politic. Judge Samuel McDowell and his
sons, Judge Lines, Judge Caleb Wallace, Major John
Crittenden, and others like them, were chosen as types of
the men who, after having been conspicuous for years be-
Conclusion. 283
fore and duriner the Revolution in the civil and military
affairs of Virginia, came to Kentucky after the close of
hostilities with the British, participated in the subsequent
organization, movements, and achievements of the expedi-
tions against the Indians, in the political deliberations
which led to the separation from Virginia and to the
establishment of the commonwealth, and directed popu-
lar sentiment in the infancy of our state. In the per-
sonal character of Judge McDowell, there were embodied
those qualities of judicious forbearance, patient endurance,
fixed purpose, calm but resolute persistence, obedience to
law, and undying love of liberty and country, which were
so splendidly illustrated by Kentuckians in the long-pro-
tracted throes of parturition through which the district
passed before statehood was achieved ; and which acted as
an effective foil to the allurements of the Spaniard and
the machinations of his emissaries. The letter of the
younger Samuel McDowell — the first United States Mar-
shal — expresses concisely and forcibly the principles trans-
mitted to the Union men of the present generation by the
patriots of that early day, discloses the forces that were
arrayed against national life from the very dawn of the
republic, emphasizes the unshrinking determination with
which those principles of disintegration were from the
first combated, and without alteration or addition might
have served as a platform for the Union men of Kentucky
in 1861 ; — as the watchword and countersign for the brave
men who went to the field. The gifted and heroic Allen ;
the brilliant and gallant Daviess — the prosecutor of Burr
and hero of Tippecanoe ; the scholarly, talented, and
brave Rowan; the able, profound, learned, and soldierly
Martin D. Hardin ; the accomplished, eloquent, graceful,
and well-equipped William Logan; the strong-minded and
thoroughly-trained Alexander K. Marshall, and others like
them, were chosen as types of the generation which closely
followed the pioneers — whose professional attainments,
whose triumphs at the bar, on the bench, in the forum, and
on the hustings, and whose knightly bearing and gallantry
in battle, rivaling the achievements of the men of. the Eliza-
284 Historic Families of Kentucky.
bethan era, rendered our state honorable in the eyes of their
countrymen. Immediately following them, and partly con-
temporary with them, were John J. Crittenden — a man who
was inferior to no other of his day in the mental strength
that addresses itself to the judgment, in the shining tal-
ents that captivate and lead the minds of men, in the
manly virtues that attract and win their enduring affec-
tions, nor in any of the graces which fascinate and charm, —
a man who was made even more illustrious by unselfish
patriotism in the hour of national peril than by his cour-
age in battle or his forensic victories; the other Crittenden
brothers; John J. Marshall, by many regarded as the most
intellectual of his name; the able William T. Barry; the
Butlers, gallant scions of a line of soldiers, wdiose civil
talents w r ere only less conspicuous than their military ca-
reers ; rare Ben. Hardin, who w 7 as the equal of any and
superior to most of his contemporaries as a lawyer, and
not inferior to any of them in the acuteness nor in the
robustness of his understanding; the courtly and richly-
gifted Richard Clough Anderson, Jr.; John Boyle, the son
of one of the earliest and bravest of the pioneers, and
perhaps the most acute metaphysician of all our jurists ; the
Wickliffes, men of attainments and unquestioned vigor;
the amiable, accomplished, and handsome Joseph Cabell
Breckinridge, who transmitted to his only son, General
John C. Breckinridge, the talents, the noble presence, and
the intrepidity he had himself inherited from his mother,
Mary Hopkins Cabell, and from his father, the elder John
Breckinridge; James C. Pickett, the graceful writer and
scholarly diplomatist; and John Green, of Lincoln, one of
the earliest, and firmest, and boldest of the anti-slavery
Presbyterian laity, and one of the very ablest of the un-
flinching leaders of the "Old Court" and Whig parties.
Next in the order of this remarkable succession of bril-
liant galaxies came Robert J. Breckinridge, an accom-
plished master of the Anglo-Saxon tongue, possessed of
unsurpassed powers of sarcasm, and who, when aroused
by a fitting occasion, was wonderfully eloquent, — w T ho was
for a time a shining light at the bar and in politics, and
Conclusion. 285
who, flitting from these like a meteor, became, with a
single exception, incomparably the greatest of our theolo-
gians ; John A. McClung, noted as a lawyer and states-
man, and distinguished as a publicist, as an orator and as
a divine ; their kinsman, the scholarly and graceful orator,
Thomas F. Marshall, whose greatest faculty was that of
an inexorable logician; Richard H. Menifee, whose perfect
dignity and remarkable force of character, whose indom-
itable pride which never descended into vanity, whose ad-
mirable poise, untiring industry, unbending will, fixed
purpose, and vaulting ambition, combined with an ardent
and earnest nature, electrical eloquence, and mental
strength, rendered him superior to Marshall, by whom lie
was excelled in grace and in the culture of the schools ;
and Christopher Tompkins, .]c, — the grandson of Colonel
John Logan, — who was, in the estimation of many, the
most gifted and promising of them all. Among these na-
tive and adopted sons of Kentucky, there was not one
who was intellectually the superior of John Poage Camp-
bell, nor one who was his equal in the extent, variety, depth,
thoroughness, and elegance of his culture. Dr. Campbell's
detection of "the character and tendency" of the Dar-
winian system of philosophy (Lexington, 1812) is pecu-
liarly interesting as "an illustration of the intellectual life
of the pioneer period, as well as suggestive and valuable
by reason of its singular pertinence to present issues in
the world of scientific and religious thought." It was
certainly no small feat of scholarship at that early period
to trace the germs of the Darwinian " theory " to the old
pagan philosophers of Greece and Rome, and at the same
time to anticipate the inevitable effects of the developed
hypothesis upon the orthodox faiths of modern times.
When we remember that these " Letters" were addressed
to Colonel Daviess, Ihe able and dauntless prosecutor of
Aaron Burr, we can readily understand that the " learned
professions" were ably represented in Kentucky in pioneer
times. Dr. Campbell, Dr. Cameron, Drs. John and Robert
J. Breckinridge, Dr. John A. McClung, and Dr. Lewis
Warner Green (the old president of Hampden Sidney),
286 Historic Families of Kentucky.
may be accepted as fair examples of the classical and theo-
logical training imparted by the early schools of Virginia
and Kentucky; and we may doubt if it will be seriously
maintained by the most skeptical inquirer that the type of
theologian and scholar is appreciably higher at the present
day. In medicine and surgery, it is only necessary to
mention Dr. Ephraim McDowell, the originator of abdom-
inal surgery; Dr. Benjamin Dudley, the famous lithoto-
mist : and Dr. Brashear, one of the most distinguished of
that remarkable group of surgeons which seems to have
sprung up spontaneously in the young commonwealth of
the West. Nor must the professional educators of these
days be overlooked. Dr. James Priestley, Dr. Louis Mar-
shall (youngest brother of the Chief-Justice), Joshua Fry,
"Dominie" Thompson, and other learned Scotchmen, Dr.
John C. Young, Dr. Lewis W. Green, Dr. Wm. L. Breck-
inridge, and others, were men admirably fitted by char-
acter and accomplishments to train the young men of an
ambitious and advancing commonwealth, and it is still es-
teemed a distinction in Kentucky to have been an alumnus
of those pioneer schools. Let the men they produced
speak for the thoroughness of the training and for the
erudition and capacity of the instructors.
The sources of the extraordinary development of intel-
lectual life in the early days of Kentucky, the martial
character of her people in the formative period, and the
characteristics which distinguish the better class of her
population of the present generation, must be sought for
in the character, antecedents, history, and surroundings of
those from whom they sprung. The earliest explorers of
Kentucky were not the hunters like Findlay, Boone, Ken-
ton, and Stover; they were Dr. Thomas Walker, Captain
Charles Campbell, and other educated Virginians, whose
descendants and kindred have since been prominent among
her people for an hundred years. Among the very earliest
of the surveyors were Hancock and Willis Lee — a name
which has been historic in America for two centuries, —
who were the lineal descendants of William Brewster — the
Presbyterian elder who became the leader of the Leyden
Conclusion. 287
Pilgrims, — and who combined with those strains of vigorous
blood that which flowed in the veins of AVashino;ton.
They were the elder brothers of John Lee, who won his
title of major by gallantry in the Revolution, who settled
in Woodford county, and who was the ancestor of Senator
Call, of Florida, of Generals George B. and Thomas L.
Crittenden, and of their nephew, Dr. Young, now the
president of Centre College. With them came their
young kinsman, John AV. Willis, who, upon the killing of
some and the dispersion of the rest of the party by the
Indians, with three companions descended the Kentucky
river to its mouth, and then went down the Ohio and Mis-
sissippi to Xew Orleans, in an Indian pirogue ; — the fir^t
white men speaking English who ever made the voyage.
After this, he fought from the beginning to the close of
the Revolution, and came out of it with the rank and
command of a major. He had been educated in the best
schools of Scotland ; and was lineally descended from
Colonel Francis Willis, a burgess in 1652, from Colonel
Augustine Warner, speaker of the Burgesses in 1676, and
from the aunt and god-mother of Washington. Many of
his kindred liv% in Kentucky to-day, where some of them
have been prominent in all the professions. The earliest
of the hardy pioneers who made permanent lodgments,
took root, and put forth branches in Kentucky, were not
the illiterate, half-civilized men of rude and exaggerated
speech some historians have represented them to have
been. While some of them may have been of this class
and character, they were comparatively few in number,
and they were speedily lost sight of in the advancing
waves of immigration, leaving scarcely a ripple upon the
surface to tell that they were ever here. Among these
pioneers were men from the best of the English, AYelsh,
and Scotch stocks of tide-water A r irginia ; but the mass of
them came from the Scotch-Irish Calvinistic people of the
Valley, of the Holston, and of Xorth Carolina — than
whom the sun never shone upon a more vigorous or a
more enduring race. These people were not sprung from
a dissolute, a self-indulgent, an idle, or an effete gentry ;
288 Historic Families of Kentucky.
they had none of these nor any of the other character-
istics which are vulgarly attributed to the " cavalier." Nor
were they ever intermingled with that pauper or semi-
criminal class who were sold into temporary servitude to
pay their fines and the expenses of their transportation to
the colony. For men like them to have been evolved
from such antecedents, from such worthless surroundings,
would have been a violation of nature's immutable law.
These men were not only singularly cool and fearless in
danger, intrepid in action, and daring in enterprise; they
were, as a class, a sober, earnest, independent, law-abiding,
liberty-loving, church-going, bible-reading, devil-defying,
God-fearing people ; — the equals morally and intellectually
of the Puritans of New England, or of the best of those
from whom they sprung — the "Puritans of the South," as
the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians and Huguenots of Virginia
and the Carolinas have been appropriately described, — or
of any other breed or race of men the world ever saw.
That the pioneers came mainly from this people, their
very names sufficiently prove ; and that they were what
they were was the result of the operation for years of nat-
ural causes and inevitable laws. Their ancestors had en-
dured all hardships, made every sacrifice, and fought in
I Scotland for their religious convictions. Thence they had
gone to the North of Ireland — with whose aboriginal peo-
ple they did not mingle, — where they converted Ulster,
Down, and Antrim from a scene of desolation into a
blooming garden. There they fought for civil and re-
, ligious liberty as represented by the princes of Nassau and
Hanover, and then were betrayed, proscribed, and perse-
cuted by the dynasties whose thrones they had secured,
and whose battles they had won. To secure the liberty of
conscience denied to them at home, many thousands of
this peculiar and indomitable people crossed the Atlantic
to build new homes in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsyl-
vania, Virginia, and North Carolina, where their thrift,
energy, industry, and intelligence produced fruits as the
same qualities had previously produced them in Ireland.
The very poverty of the soil of Scotland had forced their
Conclusion. 289
ancestors to seek compensation in education ; the descend-
ants in America manifested their inherited aspirations for
moral and religious advancement and intellectual culture
by building schools, colleges, and churches. They had
brought with them from Ireland the germs of republican
principles ; they were the first and boldest to speak for in-
dependence ; they filled the ranks, and were the best sol-
diers, of the patriot armies. In Virginia they had been
conspicuous in the French and Indian wars ; their names
are found among the most heroic on every battle-field of
the Revolution. Their sons who came to Kentucky ex-
hibited the qualities that came to them as their most valu-
able inheritance from the ages : In confronting the forces
of nature, in their warfare with the Indians and British,
in the deeds of heroism and self-devotion which extort the
admiration of every reader. These qualities were elicited,
tested, strengthened, and made resplendent by the circum-
stances of their situation. That their descendants have
been generous, hospitable, self-reliant, brave, and martial,
was only their birthright. At Tippecanoe, on the Raisin,
on the Thames, on the waters of Erie, at New Orleans, at
the Alamo, before the battlements of Monterey, on the
plains of Mexico, at Cardenas, and on every hard-fought
field of the civil war, the hereditary characteristics ot
the Scotch-Irish race were splendidly illustrated. As in
Scotland, Ireland, the Middle States, in Virginia, and in the
Carolinas, their ambition for cultivation and intellectual
life was early manifested in Kentucky. Many of them
had been well educated ; those whose limited advantages
had denied them a liberal or elegant culture were the more
emulous to obtain it for their offspring. With the Indian
war-whoop ringing in their ears, they gave to and ob-
tained for their children the very best instruction possible
to be had, and planned and provided for the erection of
schools and colleges. They founded Transylvania ; they
established Centre College ; and they inaugurated the
common-school system. At Danville, among them, and
by them, began the revolt against slavery; in their midst
19
290 Historic Families of Kentucky.
the first candidate of the Liberty party, James G. Birney,
was born, was reared, and was educated, and among them
he was married. Their surroundings forced them to be
self-reliant, developed every latent energy, and stimulated
every manly and intellectual quality. They were com-
pelled to rely on their own manhood and mental vigor for
their influence on others, for their standing among their
fellow r s, and even for existence; and they judged all other
men by thei' ssession of or deficiency in qualities that
were valuab.., solid, staying, and useful. Wealth was
soon created among them by their own energies, but the
possession of wealth did not fix any man's caste or social
position. Family influence was potential only so far as
the public discerned in the individual the valuable char-
acteristics common to his kindred. Even now the men
who lead in the commonwealth, and who are really re-
spected, are not the men of wealth, but the men of brains,
of moral worth and manly virtues ; and where this sincere
deference is paid to the wealthy, it is not to nor because
of his riches, but for some admirable personal quality
the individual himself possesses. Cut off as her people
were by mountains and long distances from the coasts
before the age of steam, in the formative period the com-
mercial instinct was more tardily developed in Kentucky
than in communities more favorably situated ; the vigor-
ous, the gifted, the enterprising, the ambitious, turned to
the libera] professions, or to that of arms, as fitting fields
for their talents and energies, and sought to win fame and
honor by deeds of valor and by forensic display. The con-
tents of the few newspapers were meager ; the books that
were read were by the best authors ; their contents were
mastered and assimilated, and furnished suggestions to
their readers for new trains of thought. Neither in law
nor in politics was there a beaten track; the necessity
for mastering principles rather than memorizing prece-
dents promoted originality of thought, and developed the
constructive faculty. The pioneers at first lived in rude
log-cabins built by their own hands ; but in those mod-
est domiciles were frequently found proud spirits, culti-
Conclusion. _ 291
vated minds, kindly and gentle manners, the masculine
and delicate feminine virtues, and an unfailing hospitality.
As the years passed on, those rude log structures gave
way to others of substantial brick or stone, whose walls
were decorated with quaint wood-carvings, and in many
instances were adorned with portraits which, in coloring,
in expression, and in accurate and vivid delineation, were
no mean specimens of the painter's art. Those houses
were the abodes of a hearty and genuine hospitality, as
generous as it was unaffected and unassuming. Could
what has been writen be enforced with engravings of
these portraits, the reader would cheerfully admit that
the originals they represented were men of a high order
of intellectuality, among the first of the English-speaking
races. The}' were not only strong themselves, but they
impressed themselves upon others. The greatest of all
Kentuckians, he whose eloquence and patriotism gave
most renown to the state, Henry Clay, while he was not
one of these men, nor of this race, was never greater than
when he gave voice to their sentiments, and acted in har-
mony with their views.
Wherever these people have gone, their places have been
in front, and those places were taken without other aid
than the brain and worth of the men to whom they were
conceded. In Ohio were the McDowells, Trimbles, and
others of the same race, and allied one with the other. In
Illinois were the kinsmen, John T. Stuart, John J. Har-
din and Stephen Trigg Logan. They were all Whigs ; all
opposed the extension of slavery ; all were the friends and
encouragers of Lincoln ; one was his instructor and law
partner; another was largely instrumental in securing his
nomination ; he married their kinswoman ; the influence the
association may have exerted in molding his opinions, if
any, may be left to conjecture. Whether you go with John
McKinley to Alabama, with the Hustons to Mississippi,
with the Campbells to Nebraska, or with others to Tennes-
see, Missouri, Arkansas, Utah and California, it is a rep-
etition of the same story. If the indulgent reader is struck
292 Historic Families of Kentucky.
with the monotony of the descriptions given of these men,
he will generously remember that, when not of the same
immediate family, they are nearly all of the same race and
of kindred qualities. Believing that distinguishing char-
acteristics of mind and body appear in families and differ-
ent breeds, as well as in races of men and women, and con-
tinue in them for many generations, for centuries, — for
good or for evil, for honor or disgrace, — the writer offers no
apology for the genealogical features of these pages. jSTor
does he deem it necessary to dwell upon the influence of
Calvinism upon the character of these people, upon Ken-
tucky, and upon the country. Secure, beyond all contra-
diction, its history stands fast. Exalting God, it abases
man in His presence. Making all men lowly before Him,
it renders them high and strong before kings. Extin-
guishing fear, making final triumph certain, inspiring with
enthusiasm, it gives strength alike to the heart and arm
of those whose faith is built upon its firm foundation.
From the first moment their ranks were formed, the
armies marching under its banners always began the
swelling chorus of victory. The history of the faith is
the story of its leaders and of the people imbued with its
doctrines. Of these, none shed a more imperishable luster
upon their race, than did the Scotch followers of John
Knox, from whom the Virginians of the Valley have
sprung. The latter were men whom Washington trusted
in times that tried men's souls ; they were men upon whom
Lee, and the Confederacy, whose foremost military chief-
tain he was, leaned as upon a " strong right arm." Among
them, both Lee and Washington found their most capable
advisers in war and in peace. The names of these peer-
less Virginians are permanently linked with the history of
that gallant race, and, in inseparable association, reflect
luster upon the greatest of their schools. The distinctive
qualities which exalt these fine, historic figures above the
shabbiness, assumption, frivolity, indolence and coarse de-
bauchery or superfine gentility of a " cavalier " environ-
ment, were precisely those mental and moral characteris-
Conclusion. 293
tics, which, by a natural affinity, brought them en rapport
with the McDowells, Lewises, Campbells, Prestons, Jack-
sons and Stuarts of the Valley ; — all of whom were " clans-
men of an antique type, Calvinists of the strictest sect,
and, in their social characteristics, Virginians to the man-
ner born."
INDEX.
Allen, Alfred, 278.
, James, and widow, of Ireland, 280.
, James, pioneer, and Mary Kel^ey, 231.
, James, of Nelson, and Mary Read, 281.
, John, Colonel, arid Jane Logan, 233-249.
, Joseph, and M. Crawford, 276.
Alexanders, Dr. Archibald, and others, 100, 160.
Andersons, ihe, of Hanover, 171.
Anderson, Colonel R. C, wives and sons, 171.
, Major, of Boyle, 98.
Andrews, Hon. L. W., and E. Dorsey, 62.
, John, and Ilettie McDowell, 83.
Armstrongs and Rowlands, 281.
Ball, Major James V., 47, 48, 106.
, Amanda, and Sam. McDowell, 94.
Ballard, Judge, and Sarah S. McDowell, 78.
Ballengers, the, 187.
Barbour, James, Auditor, 165.
Barbours, the, 21 s.
Baskerville, G. S„ and Hetty Campbell, 60.
Battle of Braddock's Defeat, 33.
Bushy Bun (Bouquet), 122.
Buena Vista, 181.
Bowman's Defeat, 130.
Blue Licks, 135.
Cardenas, 173.
Chickamauga, 220.
King's Mountain, 19-24.
Clarke's Expedition, 136.
Laramie's Store, 133.
Mackachack, 137.
Point Pleasant, 33.
Mississinewu, 47-50.
New Orleans, 261-266.
Belmont, 263.
Shiloh, 183.
Raisin, 246.
Thames, 189.
Siege of St. Asaphs, 123.
Resaca, 80.
Londonderry, 2.
(295)
296 index.
Battle of Mission Ridse, 65.
Monterey, 266.
Guilford, 33.
Waxhaw, 101.
Dunmore's Expedition, 124.
Ivy Mountain, 111.
Beatty, Otho Holland, and Mary Lo^an, 187.
Bell, Henderson, and Betsy McDowell, 43.
, Joshua P., 142, 54.
Benton, Hon. Tbos. H., and E. McDowell, 29.
Beverley Manor, the, 5.
Bibbs, the. 90.
Birneys, the, and Agatha McDowell, 70, 71.
Blain, John L„ and Miss Morris, 187.
Breck, Hon. D., and Jane B. Todd, 214.
, Rev. R. L., 214.
Breckinridges, 30, 119, 123, 144, 167, 170, 198, 199.
Brashear, Mary Eliza, and Jos. Sullivant, 69.
, Pamela, and John Trotter, 70.
Briggs, Captain Samuel, 205.
Family, 205-208.
Brown, Rev. Sam., and Mary Moore, 54.
, C. C, and Stuart, 226.
Buford, Colonel Abram, and Martha McDowell, 101.
, Chas S., and Lucy Duke, 101.
, General John, and Pattie Duke, 103.
Bullitts, the, 150-158.
Bullitt, Wm. C, and Mildred Anne Fry, 152, 155.
, Captain T. W., and Priscilla Logan, 158.
Burden's Grant, 7.
Burden, Ben., Senior, 7.
, Ben., Junior, and the widow McDowell, 14.
, Martha, and Ben. Hawkins, 14.
Burr, Aaron, conspiracy and trial of, 238-244.
Butler, Captain James, 47.
, General Wm. O., 210.
, General Richard, 255.
, Pierce, and Eliza S. Allen, 252, 269.
, General Pierce and Mildred Hawkins, 267.
Butlers, the, 252-273.
Caldwell, Abram Irvine, and Anna McDowell, 94.
Galloways and Crawfords, 194.
Campbell, Colonel "Wm., and Miss Henry, 30.
, Colonel Jno. B., 47.
, Captain Charles, and Mary Ann Downey, 52-55.
, Robert, and Rebecca Wallace, 50-55.
, Dr. Jno. Poage, and Isabella McDowell, 50-60.
Index. 297
Campbell, Drs. John C. and Jos. McD., 187.
Carlisle, Hon. Jno. G., 60.
Carrington, General H. B., and M. J. Sullivant, 95.
Carson, Captain John, and the widow McDowell, 24, 25.
, Hon. S. P, 25, 2G.
Carthrae, Miss, and Wm. S. McDowell, 70.
Chrismans, origin of the, 26.
Chrisman, Hugh and Jos., Senior, 27.
, Polly, and Sam. McDowell, 62.
, Betsy, and Sam. McDowell, 41.
, Jos., Jr., and Miss McDowell, 98.
, George, and Celia McDowell. 98.
, Lewis, Ad. L., and George, 99.
Clarke, General George R., 256.
, Jordan, and Jane Logan, 170.
, Judge, and Mary McDowell, 80.
Clay, Annette, and Colonel Henry, 79^
, General Green, and Sidney, 61, 145.
— — , Henry, 238-244.
Crittendens, the, 247-249.
Crittenden, Henry, and A. M. Murray, 248.
Coalters and Tuckers, 52, 53.
Cummings, the, 159.
Davidsons, 188, 189, 195, 206.
Dickson, Judge Wm. M., and A. M. Parker, 275.
Dodge, Colonel F. A, and Jane M. S. Neil, 116.
Duke, James K., and Mary Buford, 102.
Fontaines, the, 80.
Floyd, Governor Jno. B., 31.
Fremont, General John C, and Jesse Benton, 29.
Frys, the, 152-155.
Fry, Colonel Joshua, and Mary (Micou) Hill, 153.
, Colonel John, and Sallie Adams, 153.
, Joshua, of Mercer, and Peachy Walker, 154.
Garrard, Frank, and Mary McDowell, 66.
Givens, the, 207, 228.
Greens, 17, 71, 154, 155, 157.
Greenlee, James, and Mary E. (McDowell), 3-39.
, James, and Mary E., descendants of, 10-12.
, Grizel, and Captain John Bowman, 11.
, Grizel, and General Chas. McDowell, 19.
Harbeson, Ben., and Mary Paxton, 109.
, J. M., J. P., Wm. P. and Mary, 110.
Hardins, the, 177.
Hardin, Martin D., and Betsy Logan, 178.
298 Index.
Hardin, Colonel John J., and children, 179-183.
, Ben., and Lucinda Barbour, 218.
Harrises, 198-200.
Harrisons. 199, 200.
Harvey, Robert, and Martha (Burden) Hawkins, 15.
, Matthew, and Magdalena Hawkins, 15.
Harvies, 34, 89, 90.
Haupts, the, 81.
Hawkins, 14, 15, 78, 89.
, Adjutant John, 90.
, Colonel T. T., 15. 173, 175.
Helm, Thomas, of Lincoln, 142.
, John L., Governor, and L. B. Hardin, 216-220.
, General Ben. Hardin, and Emilie Todd, 216-220.
Houston, Bev. Sam., and Margaret Walker, 54.
, General Sam., 108. 280.
Hustons, Jos., and Margaret Allen, 27&
Huston, Eli and Felix, 279-281.
Inneses, origin of the, 192.
Innes, Judge Hary, Elizabeth Calloway and Mrs. Shields, 192-195.
Irvines, origin of the, 2.
, the, 74, 75, 94.
Irvine, Major David C, and Miss McDowell, 98.
, Hannah, and James Logan, 118, 119, 206.
, William, and Carilla Parker, 275.
Jackson, General James S.. and Pattie Buford, 101.
Jacob, Colonel R. T., and Miss Benton, 29.
Jones, Gabriel, "The Lawyer," 86-90.
, Captain Wm. Strother, and Frances Thornton, 89.
, Strother, and Anne Maria Marshall, 89.
Keene, Oliver, and Sallie McDowell, 61.
, Oliver, descendants of, 61.
Keith, Rev. James, and Mary Isham Randolph, 103, 104.
Lane. Pressly, and Miss Stephenson, 176. '
Le Grand, Lucy, and Major John McDowell, 41, 226.
Lewis, Irish, John, and Margaret Lynn, 4-6.
, Colonel Tbomas, and Jane Strother, 34, 68, 88, 89.
, General Andrew, 33, 68.
, John, son of Andrew, 106.
, Eliza A., and John Luke, Major Ball and A. K. M., 106.
, Welsh, General Robert, 84.
, Welsh, John and William, 84.
, Welsh, John, and Eliz. Warner, 85.
, Colonel Fielding, and Cath. Washington, 85.
i
r
'
Index. 299
Lewis, John, and his five wives, 85-91.
, Gabriel Jones, and Eliz. Bibb, 84-91.
, Merriwether, 91.
Lincoln, President Abraham, and Mary Todd, 215, 275.
Logans, origin of the, 117.
Logan, Jas., and H. Irvine, descendants of, 118, 119.
David and Jane, the emigrants, 119.
General Ben., 120-111.
Judge William, and Priscilla "Wallace, 143.
Judge C. W., and Agatha Marshall, 148.
Jno., and Ann C. Anderson, 170.
John Allen, 172.
Dr. Ben., and Effie Winlock, 175-177.
Robert, son of General Ben., 177.
Colonel John, and Jane McClure, 184-203.
Judge Stephen Trigg, 201.
General Hugh, and family, 203-205.
Nathaniel, 205.
John, of Botetourt, 208, 227.
Hugh, and Hannah Briggs, 207.
James (Irish), and Mary, 228.
Emmett G., 228.
Captain (Indian), death of, 246.
Eev. James Venable, 118.
Lyles, origin of the, 45.
Lyle, Captain John, and Isabella Paxton, 44, 45.
Mary Paxton, 44.
John, and Flora Reid, 1G0.
Kev. John, and the widow Lapsley, 161.
John, of Boyle, and Miss Irvine, 161.
Madison, Ambrose, and Frances Taylor, 07.
, President James, 07.
, Governor George, 68.
, Bishop James, 08.
, General Thomas, and Susanna Henry, 68.
, General Richard, and Miss Preston, 68.
, Roland and Anne Lewis, 68.
, John and Agatha Strother, 08.
, Margaretta, and Judge McDowell, 67-72.
Marshall, Colonel Thomas, and Mary Randolph Keith, 103.
, Captain Thomas, and Frances Kennan, 111.
, A. K., and Polly McDowell, 103-113.
, Chas. T., and James K., 107.
, Colonel Chas. A., and Phoebe Paxton, 111.
, Thomas, of Salt Lake, 111.
, Captain Wm. L., and Miss Colquitt, 112.
, John and Lucy, 112.
300 Index.
Marshall, Dr. Louis, and Agatha Smith, 149.
, Judge Wm. L., Thos. F., Dr. A. K., E. C, and Agatha, 149, 150.
, Chas., and Lucy Pickett, 168.
, Martin P.. and Eliza C, 168-170.
, William, and Alice Adams, 153.
, Colonel William, and Ann MeLeod, 172.
, Sallie, and Colonel R. C. Anderson, 172.
Mitchell, James, and Margaretta McDowell, 12.
, Thomas, of Danville, 12.
, Thomas, and Sarah Hawkins, 78.
Moffett, Colonel George, and Sarah McDowell, 16.
, Margaretta, wite of Colonel Jos. McDowell, of N. C, 16.
, Mary, wife of .Major Jos. McDowell, of N. C, 23.
, other descendants of Colonel George, and Sarah McDowell, 27.
McAlpin, Sarah, and John McDowell, 41.
McClung, Judge Wm., and Susan Marshall, 108.
, Maiy, wife of Judge Sam. McDowell, 39.
McClungs, other, 39.
McClures, the, 186.
McClure, Ann, and John Logan, of Botetourt, 188.
McDowells, origin of the, 1.
McDowell, Epbraim, the emigrant, 2, 3, 6-9.
— — -, Captain John, son of the emigrant, 2, 3, 6, 7, 13, 14.
, James, son of the emigrant, 2, 6, 12.
McDowells, of N. C, origin of the, 17.
McDowell, Jos., Sr., of N. C, 17, 18.
, "Hunting John," of N. C, 18, 21.
, General Chas., of N. C, and his descendants, 18, 19.
, Colonel Jos., of the Quaker Meadows, N. C, 20-22.
, Colonel Jos., descendants of, 22, 23.
, Major Jos., of the Pleasant Garden, N. C, 24.
, descendants of Major Jos., of Pleasant Garden, 25.
, James, and Elizabeth Cloyd, 27, 28.
, Colonel James, of Rockbridge, and Sarah Preston, 28.
, Governor James, 29.
, Governor James, descendants of. 81.
, Judge Samuel, and Mary McClung, 31-39.
. Major John, of Fayette, 38.
, Major John, descendants of, 40—14.
, Sam., son of Major John, 41.
. James, and Susan Shelby, 40.
, Mary, Betsey, Sallie and Lucy, daughters of Major John, 41-43.
, Dr. Jos. Nashe, 42.
, Colonel James, of Fayette, 44-50.
, Sam., son of Colonel James, 49, 62.
, Sam., descendants of, 62.
, Isabella, daughter of Colonel James, 49.
, Juliet, wife of Dr. Dorsey, 62.
Index. 301
McDowell, Captain John Lyle, 63.
, Captain John Lyle, descendants of, 64.
, Major Hervey, and Louise Irvine, 64, 65.
, Dr. Ephraim, of Mason, 66.
, Dr. Lucien, 66.
, Judge William, 67.
, Judge William, descendants of,. 69-72.
, Lucinda, daughter of Judge William, 69.
, Agatha, daughter of Judge William, 70.
, Sam., of Mercer, 72-93.
, Judge John Adair, 75, 76.
, Abram Irvine, and his descendants, 76.
, Dr. Win. A., and Maria Hawkins Harvey, 77.
, Major H. C, 79.
, Jos., son of Sam of Mercer. 80.
, A. K. M., 80-82.
, Colonel E. C, and Louise Irvine, 82.
, Colonel Jos., of Danville, and his descendants, 93-95.
, Dr. Ephraim, of Danville, 95-98.
, Wallace and family, 97, 98.
, Caleb Wallace, son of Judge Sam. and Elizabeth, 98.
McGavcek, David, and Elizabeth McDowell, 28.
McHenrys, the, 178.
McKinleys, the, 226.
McKnights, the, 158.
McKnight, Virgil, and Anne Logan, 161-167.
, Wm. L, and L. P. Marshall, 167.
McPbeeters, Wm., and Rachel Moore, 51.
, Rev. Wm., 41.
, the family of, 51-54.
, Rev. Sam. Brown, 52.
, Rebecca, and Captain John Gamble, 52.
, Rachel, and John Logan, 52.
, Elizabeth, and Wm. Campbell, 52.
, Alexander, and Jane Campbell, 54.
Matthews, Governor George, and Polly Paul, 6.
Montgomery's, the, 141.
Montgomery, Anne, 127.
Montgomerys, killing of the, 133.
Monroes, 142, 177.
Moore, Mary, and Major Alex. Stuart, 52.
, the family of, 51-54.
Moores, of Abb's Valley, 53, 54.
Mo. >re, General Andrew, and Sarah Reid, 99.
, Sam. McD., and Evelyn Alexander, 99.
, James, and Jane Walker, 51.
Muirs, 184.
Murrays, the, 249-251.
302 Index.
N ashes, the, 226.
Neil, Kobert S., and Pamela Sullivant, 69.
, Robert, E., and Jane M. Sullivant, 114.
Nelson, the preachers, 232.
"New and old court," 197.
Newton, General Thomas, and Mary K. Allen, 276.
Newtons, the, 276.
Nourses, 170, 184.
Parkers, the, 210, 271-275.
Parker, Dr. .Ino. Todd, and Jane Logan Allen, 275.
Patton, Colonel James, 8.
Patton, Elizabeth, and John Preston, 8.
Paul, Jno., and Jane Lynn, 6.
Payne, Wm. R., and Mary Starling, 90.
Paxton, John, and Martha Blair, 45.
, John, and Phoebe Alexander, 108, 188.
, John, and Elizabeth Logan, 108, 188, 228.
, James, and Phoebe McClung, 108.
, James A., and Maria Marshall, 108.
, Elizabeth, and Major Sam. Houston, 108.
, Wm. M., and Mary Forman, 109.
, Wm., and Nancy Logan, 188, 228.
, Mary Anne, and John L. Ballenger, 188.
Porters, the, 271-274.
Porter, General Andrew, and Elizabeth Parker, 271-273.
, Elizabeth 11., and Major Robert Parker, 274.
Picketts, the, 61.
Pickett, Thos. J., 61.
, Dr. Thos. E., 61.
, Colonel Jno. T., 173.
, Mary Ann, and Rev. Wm. Marshall, 228.
, Martin, and Lucy Blackwell, 168.
Poage, Martha, and James Moore, 53.
, General Robert, 55, 66.
Preston, John, 8, 28.
, Sarah, wife of Colonel James McDowell, 28.
, Colonel Wm., 28.
, General Francis, 30.
, Hon. Wm. C, of S. C, 31.
Price, Judge John W., and Anne McDowell, 76.
, Dan. B., and Mary Jane Stuart, 222.
Randolphs, the, 104.
Reade, George, 84.
Reeds, the, 70, 71.
Reid, Andrew, and Magdalen McDowell, 99.
Reids, the, 160.
Richardson, Robert C, 199.
Index. 303
Rochester?, the, 69, 72.
Rutherford, Dr. Samuel, 51.
, Catherine and Walker, 50.
, John, 50.
Sailing, John, 4.
Singletons and Eowans, 276.
Shelby, Governor Isaac, 19, 20, 30, 38.
, Major Thomas Hart, and Mary McDowell, 41.
, Susan, and Jas. McDowell, 40.
, Thos. H., and Florence McDowell, 98.
Smith, Major Francis, Miss Preston, and children, 149.
, General Green Clay, 103.
, Hon. Jno. A., and Miss McDowell, 76.
Steele, Captain Sam., 64.
Strothers, the, 68, 87-89.
Strother, Jeremiah, 87.
, Win., of Stafford, and Margaret Watts, 87.
, James, and Margaret French, 87.
, French, and Lucy Coleman, 87.
, George French, and Theodosia Hunt, 87.
, Sallie (de Fahnenburg), 87.
, Francis, and Susan Dabney, 87.
, John, and E. P. Hunter, 88.
, General David Hunter, 88.
, Wm., of Orange, and the widow Pannill, 88.
, Margaret (Morton), and Gabriel Jones, 89.
Starlings, the, 75. 82-91.
Starling, Lucy Todd, and Judge J. A. McDowell, 75.
, Wm., and Mary McDowell, 82.
, Colonel Lyne, Wm., and Lizzie, 83.
, Colonel Sam., and Elizabeth Lewis, 83.
, Colonel Edm. L , and Annie L. McCarroll, 91.
Stephensons and Colonel Crawford, 176.
Stephenson, Polly, and Dr. Jno. McKnight, 176.
, Effie, aDd General Win lock, 176.
Strange, Kobert, and Agatha Kochester, 72.
Sullivant, Jos., 69, 95.
, Pamela, 69.
, Lyne Starling, 69\
, Michael, 94.
, Wm. S., and Jane Marshall, 113.
Taylor, Colonel Wm., of Alexandria, 28.
, Colonel Richard, and Sarah Strother, 88.
, President Zachary, 68, 88.
Thorntons, the, 156-158, 194.
Thornton, Colonel John, and Mildred Gregory, 156.
304 Index.
Thornton, Colonel Francts, and Francis Gregory, 156.
, Mildred, and Sam. Washington, 156.
, Mildred, and diaries Washington, 156.
, Elizabeth, and John Taliaferro, 158.
, Elizabeth, and John Lewis, 158.
Trimble, Governor Allen, and Margaret McDowell, 23.
, Governor Hllen, descendants of, 23.
Trigg, Colonel Stephen and Mary, 200.
Trotter, .John, and Pamela Bras hear, 70.
Todds, the, of Virginia, 189.
Todd, Judge Thomas, and family, 190, 192.
, Hary I., and Jane Davidson, 189-195.
Todds, the, of Pennsylvania, 208.
Todd, Colonel John, and Jane Hawkins, 211.
, General Robert, 211.
, General Levi, and Jane Briggs, 212-225.
, EobortS., 215-220.
Vance, Nancy, and John L. McDowell, 64.
Walker, John, of Wigtown, 50.
, John, of Wigtown, descendants of, 50-61.
, Dr. Thomas, 154.
, Mrs. Dr. Thomas, 155.
Wallace, Judge Caleb, and P. Christian, 147.
, Caleb, of Danville, and Magdalen McDowell, 95.
, Rebecca, wife of Robert Campbell, 55.
Warners, the, 84-86.
Washingtons, the, 84-86, 156.
Weller, Hon. J no. B., and Susan McDowell, 28.
Wickliffes, the, 183.
Wilcox, General James A , and L. M. Sullivant, 69.
Williams, Major W. W., and Lucy Neil, 114.
Willis, Colonel Henry, and Mildred Washington, 157.
, Colonel Lewis, 157.
, Mary, and Hancock Lee, 157.
, Anne, and Duff Green, 157.
, Major John W., 91.
Wilsons, 184.
Wood, Magdalena, wife of Captain John McDowell, 3.
, Magdalena, marriage to Ben. Burden, Jr., 14.
, Magdalena, marriage to Colonel Bowyer, 15.
Woodson s, the, 43.
Woodson, Judge David Meade, 43.
, J no. McD., 44.
NOTES AND ERRATA.
Page 6. Jane Lynn, widow of John Paul and wife of John Stuart,
is s;iid by some authorities to have been the niece instead of the sister
of Margaret Lynn, the wife of John Lewis.
Pages 44 to 50. Col. James McDowell was, by an act of the General
Assembly of Virginia, added to the commission who had in charge the
preparation and organization of the expeditions against the Indians of
Ohio and Indiana in 1786.
Page 82. Col. Edward Campbell McDowell, of Columbia, Tennessee,
is a son of the late Captain John McDowell and Nancy Vance, a grand-
son of Col. James McDowell and Mary Paxton Lyle, and a great-grand-
son of Judge Samuel McDowell and Mary McClung. He was born in
Fayette county, Ky., in 1837; graduated at Transylvania; studied law
under Judge George Robertson ; entered the Confederate army in
1861 ; was a lieutenant of artillery in the defense of Island Number 10,
and was the officer sent with the flag of truce to arrange for its capitu-
lation; was confined as a prisoner of war at Johnson's Island until
exchanged in the fall of 1862; rejoined his battery at Port Hudson,
was again captured at that place, and was a second time sent to
Johnson's Island, whence he was transferred to Fort Delaware and
kept there until the summer of 1865. After the war he settled in
I lolumbia, where he resumed the practice of the law. Before the war
he married Miss Nolan, of Baton Rouge, La., who died in 1864. In
1873 he married a second time, Miss Elizabeth Myers, of Columbia,
Tennessee. They have a number of children.
Page 100. Samuel McDowell Reid was not a physician, hut suc-
ceeded his father, Andrew Reid, as clerk of the Rockbridge court, an
office which he held for many years. He was one of the trustees of
Washington College, and a citizen of worth and influence.
Page 151. The wife of Rev. James Scott was a daughter of Dr. Gus-
tavus Brown, of Port Tobacco, Maryland, a distinguished physician,
and not of Rev. James Brown, as stated. The writer knew this very
well, and the mistake is unaccountable to himself.
Pages 1S8, 189. George Davidson and his brother William were
captains in the Revolution, after which George came to Kentucky and
William settled in Tennessee. The wife of George Davidson was a
sister of Archie Woods, one of the pioneers of Madison county ; they
were both descendants of Michael Woods, who gave his name to
Woods' Gap in the Blue Ridge, in 1734. In the War of 1812,
George Davidson had five sons engaged: George, Samuel, John,
James and Michael; one son-indaw, Hugh Leiper ; and five grand-
sons, George, David and John King, and George and — Leiper. Col.
James Davidson's son, George R., was a good soldier in Capt. Milam's
company of Marshall's cavalry, in the Mexican war; at its -close was
one of the early settlers in California, and died as an officer in Walker's
Nicaraguan Expedition. James, the youngest son of Col. James
Davidson, was one of the first of the Kentuckians to enlist in the
Union army in 1861, and fought through the war. He died in Texas..
John il. Todd, a great-grandson of Col. James Davidson, was a gallant
soldier and efficient officer in the Union army in the civil war, and
was then made an officer in the regular army ; and his brother, C. C.
Todd, is an officer in the U. S. navy.
Page 248. John J. Crittenden was elected six times to the United
States Senate, instead of three times.